Norway Coach Blames Poor Marking for Netherlands Defeat

Solbakken slams 'unforgivable defending' after Norway loss

Norway coach Stale Solbakken blames 'unforgivable defending' for 2-1 loss to Netherlands, citing poor marking on Virgil van Dijk's equalizer. Atletico Madrid's Alexander Sorloth agrees with criticism.

“There was a lack of body contact for their first goal. You have seen that in the Premier League many times...”

Norway's coach Stale Solbakken is frowning over their 2-1 loss to the Netherlands, blaming “unforgivable defending” for their downfall. He was particularly disappointed with how they marked Dutch captain Virgil van Dijk, who scored the equalizer.

Solbakken felt Norway should've done better against Van Dijk, especially since he rose unchallenged for the header. Atletico Madrid's Alexander Sorloth agreed, saying it was a collective failure and he could've done more to block Van Dijk.

“There was a lack of body contact for their first goal. You have seen that in the Premier League many times, so it is very unnecessary. Of course he can score,” he said. “The fact that he was allowed to rise for the ball so easily was unforgivable.”

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Alexander Sorloth backs Solbakken's call for Van Dijk block 

Sørloth admitted he was closest to Van Dijk and should've done more to block him. He agreed with Solbakken that it was a collective failure, saying “unforgivable defending” led to Norway's downfall.

“The fact that he was allowed so much space should not happen. We, who were in the zone have to head the ball out, so it was a shame. Several mistakes allowed him to jump free there,” said Sorloth to NRK.

“I think I would have liked to have been in front of van Dijk. At the same time, we should have someone on him so that he could not jump unhindered. I could have been there, and he should not have been allowed to jump unhindered. It was a collective failure.”

Van Dijk was obviously pleased with the equalizer: “It was a very good ball into the box. I got some space to score on it. It wasn't easy, because there were a lot of players around. But I'm glad I managed to find some space,” he said to NRK.