Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard delivered a solid performance for Norway during their 2-1 loss to England in the World Cup quarter-final yesterday.
Stale Solbakken’s side went into the game as underdogs, but they secured a surprise lead through Andreas Schjelderup’s fabulous strike in the 36th minute.
Norway should have doubled their advantage soon after. They were in a two-in-one situation on the counter-attack, but Alexander Sorloth squandered a big chance.
Jude Bellingham eventually levelled the scores before the break. Norway unfortunately had a goal chalked off by VAR after Erling Haaland committed a foul on Elliot Anderson.
Bellingham ultimately scored the winning goal for the Three Lions in extra-time.
Arsenal playmaker Odegaard had a good outing against England. He provided the assist for the opening strike and also delivered a fabulous corner delivery for the ruled-out goal.
Overall, the 27-year-old had 105 touches in the game with 80 successful passes. He completed 100 percent of his dribbles (2/2), while making five recoveries in 120 minutes.
It was not a vintage performance from the Norwegian captain, but popular national outlet Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) highlighted Odegaard as the ‘guiding star in midfield’.
He was handed an 8/10 rating by NRK, who described him as Norway’s best player.
They wrote: “Important guiding star in midfield. Signal player under pressure and helped to get hold of the ball during a period when Norway was struggling. Goal-scoring pass before the 1-0 goal. Norway’s best.”
Norway had a memorable World Cup. They returned to the big stage after almost three decades and exceeded expectations by reaching the last eight, beating Brazil in the process.
They handed the Three Lions a difficult challenge yesterday. Things could have been quite different had Sorloth scored, or if VAR had not ruled out their second goal for a slight push.
Odegaard stayed unscathed throughout the World Cup with four assists. He looks to be fully fit after an injury-plagued season at Arsenal. Hopefully, we can see his best club form next term.
Stats from Sofascore