Arsenal midfield Martin Odegaard didn’t really impress the Norwegian media as he suffered a 1-0 defeat to Spain.
Martin Odegaard ‘disappeared completely’ as the Arsenal captain couldn’t drag Norway to a big win on Sunday night.
Norway simply had to beat Spain in Oslo to keep their direct Euro 2024 qualification hopes alive.
Gavi scored the only goal of the game though, handing Spain a 1-0 victory and leaving Norway five points adrift of qualification with only one game to play.
Norway still have hope of qualifying via the UEFA Nations League, but for now, their hopes are in tatters.
Martin Odegaard criticised after Norway defeat
Norway find themselves in a weird spot.
They have two superstar players in Odegaard and Erling Haaland but are still trying to form a competitive team around them.
That’s a tricky task at the moment but Norway needed a big performance from Odegaard on Sunday and really didn’t get it.
Odegaard managed just one shot and no key passes against Spain, touching the ball only 45 times; three of Norway’s back four were on the ball more than Odegaard.
The Norwegian media weren’t impressed with Nettavisen rating him at just four out of 10.
They suggested that Odegaard was ‘clearly Norway’s best player’ in the early stages and ‘seemed violently pumped up from the start’.
However, £30m playmaker Odegaard ‘disappeared completely’ and couldn’t impose himself once Spain took control of the midfield battle.
Newspaper Verdens Gang went with a five out of 10 rating, noting that Odegaard was ‘not as dominant’ with the ball as hoped.
They added that Odegaard did drag the team forward but it just wasn’t nearly enough for Norway to claim a victory.
Arsenal will hope Odegaard returns strongly
Arsenal went into the international break with a huge 1-0 home win over Manchester City, showing their Premier League title credentials.
Gunners stars then heading straight off with their countries means the Arsenal celebrations didn’t quite last as long as they would have liked.
Odegaard’s Euro 2024 dreams are over for now and he must take the next couple of days to recharge his batteries before heading back to London.
It wasn’t to be for Odegaard against Spain but he faces another big game next weekend with Arsenal heading to take on Chelsea.
Mikel Arteta will hope that there is no international hangover for Odegaard, as Arsenal will need him firing at Stamford Bridge come the weekend.
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