While Norway’s World Cup squad may appear to be the happiest of camps, there is some friction behind the scenes ahead of their huge quarter-final with England.
Alexander Sorloth, the Atletico Madrid striker forced to play out of position to accommodate Erling Haaland in the national side, suffered the humiliation of being subbed off at half-time in Norway’s win over Brazil.
The 30-year-old’s father, Goran, who played more than 50 times up front for his country, revealed his son was ‘irritated’ by the decision.
He told Dagbladet: ‘That he gets irritated about being taken off, he should be every day all year round.’
And Alexander himself admitted afterwards he was ‘angry’ at his manager Stale Solbakken, adding: ‘I talked to Stale afterwards. We’re good friends now. But I didn’t understand much of it when it happened.’
He was hooked for Fulham winger Oscar Bobb at the break, while Antonio Nusa also came off in changes that went on to work like a charm for Norway, who beat Brazil 2-1 courtesy of an Erling Haaland brace.
Alexander Sorloth was ‘irritated’ by being substituted against Brazil at half-time
He added: ‘Alexander is a winner. He loves playing football matches and building a winning culture. But he has done a great job of keeping the ball in the team.
‘We have a world-class player in Erling at the top. He is a center forward. Alexander is also built as a centre forward, but now has the role on the right wing.
‘That he gets irritated about being taken off, he should be every day all year round. Regardless of whether it’s the World Cup, the European Championship or a regular international match.’
When questioned about his bold substitutions against Brazil, Solbakken said: ‘None of them played a bad game. Quite the opposite.
‘They did a wonderful job defensively. They were also involved offensively. But the match dictated that we should have other types.’
Andreas Schjelderup and Bobb helped swing the game in Norway’s favour and the former whipped in a cross for Haaland to score the opener.
Sorloth’s father described the World Cup camp as a ‘boys trip’ and the group have now hit Miami ahead of their quarter-final showdown with England.
They were afforded ‘almost free rein to party’ after the Brazil triumph but that may have backfired with a sickness bug hampering the squad.
Goran Sorloth, Alexander’s father, is pictured celebrating beating England in a qualifying match back in 1993
Goalkeeper Orjan Nyland confirmed the medical issue, telling James Corden: ‘I can confirm that it’s true, we’ve had our issues, we’re doing the best we can and the team doctor is very busy at the moment. I have no idea what the source was, we did have some time off so maybe someone contracted something.
‘Hopefully everything goes well and we face England with a fully rested squad on Saturday.’
Sorloth’s father has been enjoying the ‘boys trip’ of his own with other families travelling with the squad in the US.
He went on: ‘It’s touching. I get tears in my eyes when I talk about it. I rarely do that.
‘It’s a fantastic life. There’s a unity that’s unique considering we’re in the World Cup. People are so united. Tears were shed after the last match.’
Whether Solbakken risks angering Sorloth by dropping him for the England showdown remains to be seen.
But given Norway’s second-half performance against Brazil, there’s every chance he opts for Schjelderup and Bobb from the start, as Sorloth is not a natural winger.
Thomas Tuchel will have to come up with a plan to stop Haaland and denying his service from out wide is likely to be key.
England play Norway on Saturday at 10pm and the winner will face either Argentina or Switzerland in the semi-final.
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