Both preparing for next season’s UEFA Nations League, Norway and Kosovo meet for an international friendly at Oslo’s Ullevaal Stadion. Neither nation made it through to Euro 2024, so they will instead use this month’s get-together to build towards the future.
Having finished third in European Championship qualifying Group A, behind Spain and Scotland, Norway’s long wait to take part at major finals continues – the Nordic nation have not reached any of the past six Euros and last featured at the World Cup finals in 1998.
Stale Solbakken’s side are therefore casting their eye towards the next challenge, as they will take on Austria, Kazakhstan and Slovenia in the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League, competing in the competition’s second tier.
Hoping for a first major finals appearance since independence – and their subsequent entry into UEFA back in 2016 – Kosovo could only finish second-bottom of Group I in Euro 2024 qualifying.
With just two wins from 10 games, they ended up six points shy of second-placed Switzerland, wrapping the campaign up with a dismal 1-0 home defeat to Belarus.
If Stale Solbakken had planned to pair Erling Haaland with Alexander Sorloth again, the Norway coach’s hopes were scuppered when the latter – who narrowly missed out on the Pichichi award for La Liga’s top scorer – was ruled out of this month’s friendlies by a hamstring injury.
