Martin Odegaard was at the centre of a heated dispute with the referee during Norway’s contentious 1-1 draw against Slovakia on Tuesday evening.
Former Crystal Palace striker Alexander Sorloth scored early for Norway, and thought he had netted a second before half-time from an Odegaard corner. However, the goal was disallowed by the referee who believed Sorloth had committed a foul. This decision sparked protests from the Norwegian team, with Odegaard and Erling Haaland leading the objections.
The frustration continued into the second half when Norway were awarded a penalty after ex-Southampton player Mohamed Elyounoussi was fouled. Manchester City’s Haaland took the penalty but it was saved by Slovakia’s goalkeeper Marek Rodak. Following the match, Haaland apologised on social media.
Slovakia managed to level the score with a goal from Ondrej Duda in the 87th minute. Despite the disappointing result for both Odegaard and Haaland, the Manchester City striker’s club teammate Oscar Bobb took the opportunity to lavish praise on his compatriot and international colleague Odegaard, suggesting the Arsenal man is one of the best players in the world.
“It is a dream to play with Martin. Having one of the world’s best No. 10s next to me makes it much easier,” Bobb told TV2.
Odegaard returned the compliment after Bobb was compared to his Arsenal teammate Bukayo Saka. He said: “They are two fantastic players, and two players who are very good with the ball. Oscar is perhaps more of a ball player and has been more of a midfielder, so a slightly different type.
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“I have played with Saka for a long time, I know him well and it [our connection] works very well. Now I played with Oscar last time, and felt we had a very good link. We found each other and understood each other. It’s always nice to play with quality players. You could see the move he showed against the Czech Republic. He has an X-factor.”
This summer, Odegaard, Haaland and Bobb will all be in international action as Norway face Kosovo and Denmark in friendly matches. However, they won’t be participating in the Euros as Norway came third behind Spain and Scotland in their qualification group.
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