Norway manager Ståle Solbakken has been critical of Manchester City midfielder Oscar Bobb’s performance in the 1-1 draw against New Zealand.
The 22-year-old started on the right wing in the national team’s 5-0 World Cup qualifier win over Israel last week.
Solbakken then used the Manchester City player in the middle of the pitch in the friendly against New Zealand on Tuesday.
The national team boss was not at all pleased with Bobb’s performance. He made his feelings clear in the post-match press conference and VG have relayed his comments.
“He was very poor in the first half,” he said.
According to the manager, yesterday’s performance was Bobb’s worst for his country. He mentioned this when asked what the Manchester City player was lacking.
Oscar Bobb performance ‘lacking everything’
Oscar Bobb
“He is lacking everything,” Solbakken explained.
“He takes too long with the ball, positions himself strangely and doesn’t press well. He’s done that in training and been very good at it.
“But if you ask Oscar, I think he’ll say that the first half was his weakest performance for the national team. The second half was the next weakest.”
Solbakken, however, allowed the Manchester City man to play the full 90 minutes against New Zealand.
Although he publicly criticised Bobb, Solbakken made it clear he isn’t too concerned.
“I’m not wasting any energy on that. He has performed very, very well in almost every game, both further up the pitch and further out. It’s not a concern,” he added.
After the match, Bobb was asked to give his take on the manager’s comments of his performance. He didn’t disagree with Solbakken and said it was a “fair assessment”.
Bobb missed the majority of last season due to a foot injury. He regained full fitness earlier this year and has made eight appearances this season.