FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Norway coach Stale Solbakken said his decision to rest ten first-team players including Erling Haaland against France was a “no-brainer” due to medical tests showing fatigue affecting several members of his squad.
After making wholesale changes in Boston, Norway lost 4-1 against the World Cup favourites to finish as runners-up in Group I and head for a round of 32 tie against Ivory Coast on Tuesday.
Solbakken’s decision prompted frustrated fans inside the stadium to chant “We want Haaland” after missing the chance to see the Manchester City forward go to head-to-head with Kylian Mbappé.
But Solbakken was unrepentant about his decision, insisting that it was based on protecting his players and ensuring Norway progress beyond the round of 32.
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“This is simple,” Solbakken said. “We did a summary after Senegal [on Monday] and five or six players were very affected after 80 minutes of play. The entire defence and some midfielders were very affected.
“We also know that from the Senegal game that Norway had the shortest window to play another match today.
“We could have played a decent match today, but we want to win and the situation is whether we might win, bearing in mind the situation and what about our readiness for the next game.
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“So it was a no-brainer on my part and also from the physio and health and medical and from some players themselves. They all said it would be difficult for many of them [to play].”
Solbakken said the thoughts of fans was in his consideration, but ultimately, he wanted to put Norway’s chances ahead of the thoughts of the supporters inside the stadium.
“The only consideration is taking the fans in mind,” he said. “They would have wanted to see Erling and Martin [Ødegaard], but it didn’t take us any time to decide this.
“Erling and Martin are team players, they know what is best for the team. The fans want to see them, but hopefully we can give them some good summer nights in the next few weeks.
“We have given the fans a couple of victories and the opportunity to watch more games and that’s what we are here for.
“We are not a naïve country here just for fun. We want to stay here as long as we can, so it was a no-brainer.”
