Norway’s World Cup run has hit an unexpected obstacle before its quarterfinal clash against England.
The squad is dealing with sickness concerns ahead of Saturday’s matchup in Miami, with multiple players battling symptoms throughout the tournament, according to Norwegian outlet Dagbladet.
“We’ve had a few players who haven’t been feeling well, but things are getting better,” Norway manager Stale Solbakken said. “It’s not ideal during a tournament, but we’re managing the situation.”
The timing is far from ideal for Norway, which is coming off a stunning Round of 16 win over Brazil and now has to prepare for England while managing illness within the group.
Solbakken acknowledged that sickness has lingered around the team, though he downplayed the severity with his side just days away from one of the biggest games in the country’s history.
“We’ve really only had Jorgen, who has had a fever,” Solbakken said, per Dagbladet. “But then there’s been a bit of coughing and rasping evenly, scattered throughout. But there’s air conditioning, flights, changing rooms and all that. We’re over 50 people so it would be strange if one or the other didn’t come.”
Jorgen Strand Larsen missed Norway’s opening match of the tournament against Iraq with a fever, while Marcus Holmgren Pedersen was unavailable for Norway’s win over Brazil because of illness.
Norway is already in the middle of its best World Cup run, having reached the quarterfinals for the first time after previous Round of 16 exits in 1938 and 1998.
The heavy travel and quick turnaround appear to have taken a toll during a tournament spread across North America, with Solbakken pointing to flights, air conditioning and changing rooms as possible factors.
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Norway is trying to extend that historic run behind Erling Haaland, but England, which beat Mexico in a thriller to reach the final eight, already represented a massive challenge even before the sickness concerns.
Now, Haaland and Co. have another issue to manage before Saturday’s quarterfinal.
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