NORWAY face Kosovo in an international friendly fixture at the Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo on Wednesday evening.
Having both failed to qualify for Euro 2024, neither of these two nations will be present at this summer’s continental gathering.
The Scandinavians finished third behind both Spain and Scotland in their qualifying group, meaning their wait for a first major tournament since 2000 continues.
With Norway’s next competitive fixture not until September, Stale Solbakken’s side will look to build some momentum by winning each of their upcoming exhibition encounters,
Meanwhile, Kosovo also came up short in their quest to qualify for a major tournament for the first time in their history, finishing second from bottom in Group I.
That limp showing prompted the Kosovo FA to make a managerial change earlier this year, with Franco Foda now leading the national team.
How the bookies view it: Light work for the Lions
Despite failing to win any of their last two friendly fixtures at home, Norway are odds-on 9/20 favourites on Bet 365.
Kosovo slumped to a 2-0 defeat in their friendly fixture with Hungary back in March and the bookmakers’ odds suggest that they will suffer the same fate here, with the Dardanians 6/1 (Bet 365) underdogs while the draw is also deemed unlikely at 3/1 (Bet 365).
Head to head: History book blank
This will mark the first-ever meeting between Norway and Kosovo on the international stage.
Kosovo last came up against Scandinavian opposition when trying to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, losing home and away to Sweden in the process.
Players to watch: Haaland hungry for more goals
Fresh off the back of firing Man City to a record-breaking fourth Premier League title in succession, and bagging the Golden Boot along the way, Erling Haalnd is 4/5 to strike on Wednesday night. That price holds plenty of appeal when you consider the Norwegian superstar has racked up 27 goals in 31 appearances for his country to date.
Milot Rashica scored the only goal of the game in Kosovo's 1-0 win against Armenia during the last international break. The former Norwich man is 5/1 (Bet 365) to make the net bulge in the Norwegian capital.
Predicted line-ups
The aforementioned Erling Haalnd is expected to feature from the start for Norway, as is Arsenal skipper Martin Odegaard.
New Kosovo boss Franco Foda is likely to make some changes to the side that were turned over 2-0 by Hungary last time out.
Norway: Nyland; Ajer, Hanche-Olsen, Ostigard, Bjorkan; Odegaard, Thorstvedt, Berge; Bobb, Haaland, Elyounoussi
Kosovo: Muric; Vojvoda, Rrahmani, Aliti, Paqarada; Loshaj, Berisha; Zhegrova, Muslija, Rashica; Muriqi
Anything else catch the eye?
Given Erling Haalnd’s remarkable goalscoring record on the international stage, the 7/2 (Bet 365) for him to score two or more goals also looks worthy of some interest.
This bet would have paid out in six of the Man City goal machine’s last 17 outings for his country, and there is plenty of scope for a repeat here when going up against a Kosovo side ranked 102 in the FIFA world rankings.
In fact, I would also be prepared to take it one step further by having a small play on Haaland to hit a hat-trick at 14/1 on Bet 365.
This International Friendly match between Norway and Kosovo will be played on Jun 5, 2024 and kick off at 18:00. Check below for our tipsters best Norway vs Kosovo prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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