Norway Edges Out Senegal in New Jersey Thriller
- Philip Fox
- Jun 25
- 4 min read
Credit Sky Sports
NATIONAL SOCCER NEWS: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com
Game two of matchday two took place in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where Norway took on Senegal. While Norway had taken home all three points the previous week, Senegal was hoping to jump back into the knockout-round picture after a hard loss to France.
Norway started the match with the same starting 11 as their previous match, utilizing a 4-3-3 formation. Ørjan Håskjold Nyland started in goal. Norway’s back four consisted of Julian Ryerson at right back, Kristoffer Ajer and Torbjørn Heggem at center back, and David Møller Wolfe at left back. Norway’s midfield three featured captain Martin Ødegaard, Sander Berge, and Fredrik Aursnes. In the attack, Norway deployed Alexander Sørloth on the right wing, Erling Haaland at striker, and Antonio Nusa on the left wing. Norway’s manager was Ståle Solbakken.
Senegal did some tweaking after their heavy defeat the previous week and started in a 4-2-3-1 formation. In the attack, Nicolas Jackson served as the lone striker. In the attacking midfield were Sadio Mané on the left wing, Lamine Camara as the central attacking midfielder, and Ismaïla Sarr on the right wing. In the defensive midfield, Pape Gueye played at left center midfield, while Idrissa Gana occupied the right center midfield spot. On defense, Senegal featured Malick Diouf at left back, Moussa Niakhaté and captain Kalidou Koulibaly at center back, and Krépin Diatta at right back. Édouard Mendy was in charge of the goal at the keeper position, and Pape Thiaw managed the squad.
For the first 37 minutes, Norway stayed on the attack, but the Senegal keeper, Mendy, made three huge saves, including a full-body starfish dive to stop a power-driven, left-footed shot from Ødegaard.
Norway finally found the back of the net in the 43rd minute thanks to a horrible touch by defender Koulibaly, who passed the ball right to Norwegian midfielder Marcus Pedersen, who buried the ball into the net.
The first half ended with two different chances for Haaland to get on the score sheet. The first came from a corner where Haaland placed a perfect header toward the bottom right corner of the goal, only for the Senegal keeper to keep it out at the last second. The second was another heads-up play; after the ball was played back to Mendy, Haaland put extra pressure on the keeper, who lost his footing and gave the ball to the 6-foot-5-inch striker. Haaland shot at the open net but only hit the right post, and the ball bounced away to safety.
The halftime score stood at Norway 1, Senegal 0. Both teams finished the first half with 50% possession. Norway held the majority of the opportunities, taking eight shots with four on target and one reaching the back of the net. Senegal finished the half with six shots in total, but only one on target.
Just two minutes into the second half, the Vikings struck on the counterattack. After taking possession of the ball in the middle third, Ødegaard handled the ball all the way into the attacking third and slotted a perfectly placed pass to Haaland, who fell as he powerfully finished the ball into the right side of the net.
The lead was doubled, but it did not stay there for long. Only five minutes passed before Senegal was right back in the fight. After a powerful pass through the middle, star Sadio Mané proved his worth and flicked the ball to winger Sarr, who powered through the opposition. Somehow, Sarr got a foot to the ball as he was falling and sent it into the top right corner of the net.
While some games felt like boxing matches, this half felt more like a ping-pong match, because only five more minutes passed before Norway took back their two-goal lead. A poorly cleared ball by the Senegal defense and an attacking Norway led to another magnificent goal from Haaland. The ball was popped right to the Manchester City striker by Patrick Berg, who had been subbed on about 25 minutes before the goal. Haaland finished the volley with the side of his foot. The score stood at Norway 3, Senegal 1.
Senegal refused to roll over, however, and kept attacking. In the 93rd minute, Sarr cut the lead back to just one with about six minutes left in injury time. Niakhaté curled an amazing cross from the left side of the box, where Jackson perfectly timed his one-touch pass to Sarr, who simply had to make sure the ball was on target. It was a beautiful build-up play from Senegal, proving that they were there to fight.
In the dying embers of the game, Senegal had a final chance, but Sarr could not get over the ball and headed it over the bar. The Norwegians saw out the final few seconds and walked away with three points and a chance at the top spot that Friday.
Senegal finished the game with the majority of possession at 58% and the majority of shots at 16, compared to Norway's 13. Still, Norway had more shots on target, registering seven compared to Senegal's four.
Norway goes into game three looking ahead to a clash against the powerhouse France in a battle for the top spot of the group. Both Norway and France had officially qualified for the knockout rounds. Meanwhile, Senegal is set to take on Iraq, trying to earn one of the eight third-place team spots. As of Monday night, Senegal sat in the 12th position among third-place teams with zero points. A is was an absolute must for both teams if they wish to advance in the tournament.
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