Norway 3-1 Cymru
- The impressive Antonio Nusa broke the deadlock before Andreas Schjelderup added a second
- David Brooks gets a goal back before Erling Haarland confirms points with a penalty
- Yellow card shown to Ethan Ampadu rules him out of next match
- Cymru welcome Portugal to a packed Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday, 17 November
Goals from Antonio Nusa, Andreas Schjelderup and a penalty from who else but Erling Haaland earned Norway a valuable 3-1 victory in Oslo to leave Cymru bottom of the group with one match remaining.
The return of Harry Wilson, Joe Rodon and goalkeeper Karl Darlow enabled head coach Craig Bellamy to name a strong starting line-up, with Wilson making his 70th senior international appearance. There was also a cap milestone for Brennan Johnson as he made his 50th appearance for his country.
Cymru went into the match with the head-to-head advantage over Norway at the bottom of Group A4 following the 2-1 win in Cardiff last month. Cymru started the better of the two sides with Johnson crossing for Wilson in the opening exchanges, but he failed to make a strong connection with the ball.
Nusa provided the creativity for Norway, and he asked a couple of early questions of the Cymru defence, but Darlow remained untroubled. However, captain Ben Davies had to make a crucial interception to deny Haaland from getting on the end of a teasing cross from Nusa.
Torbjørn Heggem connected with an effort from the resulting corner on 15 minutes, but Cymru began to assert themselves on the match and looked particularly dangerous on the counter-attack. Dan James had two chances midway through the half but put both of his efforts wide of the post.
A late challenge from Ethan Ampadu was rewarded with a yellow card that will rule the influential midfielder out of Tuesday’s final group match against Portugal in Cardiff on Tuesday night.
Norway had prolonged spells of possession around the Cymru area, but their frustrations were evident by Nusa’s wild effort that went high and wide on the 30-minute mark. Thelo Aasgaard and Oscar Bobb both had opportunities for the home side, but the best chance of the half would fall to James.
On 43 minutes, another dangerous counter-attack from Cymru resulted in James only having goalkeeper Egil Selvik to beat but he was denied by a fine save. Norway ended the opening half with a corner, but once again it came to nothing to leave Cymru taking plenty of positives from first 45 minutes.
Johnson tried his luck just minutes after the restart, but his effort could only find the side netting. However, Norway moved up a gear from the opening half with Bobb and Nusa becoming increasingly effective as they went in search of the opening goal.
Sander Berge had an effort blocked by Liam Cullen on 54 minutes, but the opening goal was eventual scored through Nusa just before the hour mark. After winning a corner for his side, Nusa then controlled the ball on the edge of the area before firing past Darlow.
Less than 10 minutes later it was 2-0 as substitute Schjelderup slotted the ball home at the back post from a pass from Haaland. Neco Williams tried his luck from distance to try and get Cymru back into the match, but it would prove to be his last action as he limped out of the game shortly after.
Despite the setback, Cymru had chances with Ampadu and Rubin Colwill testing Selvik, and the deficit was reduced on 79 minutes when David Brooks lifted the ball over the goalkeeper under pressure from the Norwegian defence.
However, it would prove to be a false dawn for Cymru as Norway raised their game in the final stages of the match. First Ødegaard forced a fine save from Darlow, but when Connor Roberts brought down Schjelderup for a penalty on 88 minutes, there was only one outcome when Haaland placed the ball on the spot.
Norway had further chances in injury time to increase their lead, but it remained 3-1 as the final whistle brought this entertaining contest to a close. Cymru will rue the opportunities missed, but Norway proved to be too strong as the game went on, and now Bellamy’s side must beat group leaders Portugal on Tuesday.
