Norway vs Georgia prediction: EUROPE: Euro – Qualification betting tips on match 2023-09-11 18:45.
Norway and Georgia have so far enjoyed vastly contrasting fortunes during this international break. The Scandinavians thrashed Jordan 6-0 in a friendly without Erling Haaland, who watched from the bench as his compatriots bagged four first-half goals – the second time they have scored so many first half goals since the turn of the decade (the other occasion being the 9-0 win over Armenia last year).
The Lions will be hoping to replicate that relentless attacking throughout the remainder of their UEFA European Championship qualifying (ECQ) group in which they currently sit third, two points behind second-placed Spain despite having played one game more than them. StĂ„le Solbakkenâs side may be wondering what might have been, having dropped a total of five points from winning positions in Georgia and at home to Scotland, and his assistant Brede Hangeland admitted at the weekend their chances of qualifying âdonât look goodâ.
The visitors were mauled 7-1 at the hands of Spain in their previous outing – the biggest defeat in the history of the Georgian national team. That result pushed the Crusaders below their next opponents on goal difference and left them facing the prospect of a third successive loss for the first time since the autumn of 2021, having started off their ECQ campaign in positive fashion with a draw at home to Norway and a gutsy win in Cyprus.
The demoralising way in which they were demolished on Friday left coach Willy Sagnol deeply apologetic to the fans when he described the loss as âa disasterâ and âunacceptableâ. Having seen Ălvaro Morata notch up in a hat-trick against them on Friday, the Frenchman has just four days to rally his players ahead of the daunting task of shackling Haaland. That said, Georgia do at least have a place in the Euro 2024 qualifying play-offs should they fail to automatically progress to the tournament, thanks to their performances in the Nations League – something Norway do not have the luxury of.
Players to watch: At the risk of this section being repetitive when it comes to Norway, itâs hard to look past Haaland, who has scored in 11 of his last 13 internationals and sits top of the 2023/24 Premier League goal charts with six. Despite the wizardry of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Georgiaâs most potent attacking threat could well be Georges Mikautadze, who netted in his countryâs first two ECQs this campaign and last month earned a move to Ajax after consistently excellent performances for Metz.
Hot stat: Eight of Norwayâs last ten ECQs saw both teams score on the day.