Norway coach: I believe Italy will eventually qualify for the World Cup and are not worried that we will lose by 9 goals

In the final round of World Cup qualifying, Norway will challenge Italy away from home. Norway national team coach Starr Solbakken attended the pre-match press conference.

Norway leads Italy by 3 points and has a goal difference of 17 more. As long as Norway does not lose to Italy by 9 goals in this game, Norway can win the group first and directly advance to the World Cup. Previously, the Italian national team coach Gennaro Gattuso raised objections to the promotion rules of the World Cup preliminaries. What do you think of this?

These rules were established from the beginning. I heard that Gattuso wanted to compare the head-to-head results between the two teams at the same time, rather than the total goal difference. I haven't thought about it, I can understand his point of view, but there are disadvantages in that case: after all, all games are important, many games are unpredictable, and our previous away game against Israel was tied 1-1 in the 55th minute... Nonetheless, I can understand and respect his point of view.

Gattuso also believes that European teams have not received the treatment they deserve after the expansion of the World Cup. Now Italy must participate in the play-offs, while some weaker teams from other continents have qualified for the World Cup. What is your comment on this view?

You ask me these questions as if we are already world champions... In fact, Norway has not participated in the World Cup for a long time. I didn't think too much about it, I understand the Italian point of view and maybe other national teams have an easier path to qualify. But I have too much to think about and I'm not going to call FIFA president Infantino to ask for information.

In the last round of World Cup preliminaries, you were still 0-0 after halftime. Were you worried that you wouldn't be able to win? ?

When you don't score, there's always a little doubt. We've seen all of Estonia's games in this group and their performance in the first half has been outstanding. Even in Estonia's previous away game against Italy, Italy only scored in the 60th minute to take the lead, and then Estonia lost. But when their fitness dropped, the game became difficult for them and we knew we would get more chances in the second half.

Do you think Italy can finally qualify for the World Cup?

I believe Italy can participate in the World Cup. You have a strong team and use a different tactical system. I like Coach Spalletti and Gattuso, and not long ago you defeated France.

When did you realize that Norway could directly qualify for the World Cup?

Of course it was the first round home game against Italy. We had already played two rounds of World Cup qualifying in advance, and that was Italy's first World Cup qualifying match. That victory gave us the mental strength to play well in the next games and we got a lot of goal difference, which helped us a lot. And in the last World Cup qualifiers, we had problems with goal difference.

The last time Norway participated in the World Cup was in 1998, when you participated as a player and lost 0-1 to Italy in the 1/8 finals. Now you have revenge for that game?

No, this is not revenge. For our group of players, it was great to be part of the 1998 World Cup in France.

How are you preparing for the war now?

We'll do all the work tomorrow, it's a bit special when you have to prepare for so many games. But we analyze a lot and present everything to the players. Next we have one last training session and then a tactical meeting.

Are all players ready to play?

Yes.

Are you worried about the small possibility of a 9-goal defeat?

No, no. My players and I have never lost by nine goals and we will do our best to keep it that way. Now we just need to finish this world preliminaries well.

Is Selvik's condition okay?

Yes.

What did Haaland do to become the leader of the team?

Obviously, more experience would help. He and Odegaard have been captains and vice-captains of the national team since the beginning, and we have all noticed Haaland's growth.

Tomorrow, 5,000 Norwegian fans will come to Milan to watch the game. Will you attend the celebration party?

I'm not going to the party, and we haven't planned a party yet.

What do you think of your coaching experience?

There is no magic, we strive to improve in all aspects. The players listened to me and we had bad games, like when we didn't qualify for the European Championships.

In order to avoid a 0-9 defeat, what tactics will you use?

This is a game against Italy, they rarely lose at home... We will also consider our opponents when we play, but we will try to be ourselves.

Odegaard was absent due to injury

But he is still with us, which shows how important the national team is to him.

This is like a training match?

No, this will be a real game, with 60,000 fans in the stands. Italy will also be trying to avenge their first leg defeat and it will be a good test for our defence.