On March 23rd in Oslo during the international soccer break, there will be a friendly matchup between a team heading to the World Cup and one that is not. Australia will be looking to get their team in order before they get on the plane to Russia this summer, while Norway will head back to the drawing board; they haven’t gone to a major international tournament since the European Championship in 2000.
What To Know About Australia
Australia finished fourth in their qualification group, then went to Honduras and got a 0-0 draw in the first leg of their play-off. They then went home and beat Honduras 3-1 in the return leg behind a hat trick from captain Mile Jedinak, who scored twice from the penalty spot. Jedinak will definitely be going to Russia, barring injury, as will be 38-year-old Tim Cahill. That is a bit worrying for Australia, that they depend on the wily veteran so heavily to score goals. However, Australia might have a bigger concern as Ange Postecoglu resigned from his position as manager after leading the team to the World Cup, and now they’re led by Bert van Marwijk. Postecoglu left to manage a team in Japan, but van Marwijk also left his place as the manager of Saudi Arabia after getting them to the World Cup. He is a good manager, but it is just a distraction that the team might not need going into this World Cup, where they have gotten out of the group stage just once in four tries. They’re going to have their hands full this summer as well as they’re grouped with France, Peru and Denmark.
What To Know About Norway
Norway fell 1-0 in Slovakia in their last match and wound up finishing fourth in their qualification group, winning four and losing five of their 10 matches. They scored 17 goals, but they also allowed 16, which is a losing formula. You also have to take into account that Norway scored eight goals against San Marino, which isn’t a very big accomplishment. Up front, they should look at giving more appearances to Ola Kamara, who has one goal in nine games for his country. However, he has consistently scored goals in Major League Soccer, which has improved immensely in competition. Really, what does Norway have to lose? They also have to find some sort of continuity at the back while they become more consistent up front. Norway has a lot to work to do, although they have been good at home, winning two and drawing two of their last four matches in Oslo.
Outlook
It’ll be interesting to see the odds as Norway is at home, but Australia has a lot more to play for as they’re trying to get their team organized before the summer. It’ll also be the first match for Australia under van Marwijk, so he’ll obviously want to try some things out. Australia has won one and drawn one of their two meetings with Norway, the last of which came in November 2004, a 2-2 draw in Sydney (coincidentally, Cahill scored in that match). A draw would be a good result for both teams.
There are a number of interesting international games coming up. If you’re looking for odds on the international friendlies, check out Play Shangrila to get the odds for matches, props and betting lines to win it all!
