Our prediction for this World Cup 2026 match:
Netherlands will be aiming to book their ticket for Qatar when they host Haaland-less Norway to De Kuip behind closed doors. The Oranje dropped a two-goal advantage in a 2-2 draw with Montenegro, but despite the draw they remained in top position in Group G. Louis van Gaal’s troops are one point away from securing their place at the 2022 World Cup finals, and they are likely to adopt a cautious approach in the decider.
A man to watch in the home team will be Memphis Depay, who scored a brace in the draw with Montenegro, while Steven Bergwijn is widely expected to replace Donyell Malen in the starting XI. The Scandinavians, on the other hand, failed to impress in a goalless draw with Latvia, and seeing that Borussia Dortmund ace Erling Haaland continues to miss out with injury, home win should be considered. In Haaland’s absence, Alexander Sorloth will continue to lead the line for the visitors.
Highlighted Player (Memphis Depay):
Memphis Depay is a Dutch winger who started his professional career at PSV Eindhoven. During the 2014/2015 Eredivisie campaign the pacey footballer was on Manchester United’s radar and on June 12, 2015 the Premier League club confirmed the signing of the Dutchman. Many people expected that he would impress in the 2015/2016 Premier League season, but the former PSV ace played below expectations for the Red Devils, scoring only two goals (one assist) during the season.
After playing only for league games for Man Utd in the 2016/2017 season, Memphis Depay was sold to Olympique Lyon on January 20, 2017. Depay signed a four-and-a-half year deal with les Gones for a fee of around £16 million. The Dutch winger was producing fine performances for Lyon in the 2016/2017 season; he scored five goals for the club, while providing eight assists for his teammates.
Memphis Depay made his senior debut for Netherlands on October 15, 2013 in a 2-0 win over Turkey. Depay did well to win the 2011 European Championship with Netherlands U17 team.
Highlighted Team (Norway):
Norway are a Nordic side that participated three times at the FIFA World Cup finals (1938, 1994 and 1998). The Norwegians were producing fine performances at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, with the team setting up a meeting with Italy in the last 16 of the showpiece tournament thanks to a 2-1 win over Brazil in their last group match.
However, the Azzurri proved to be a big catch for Norway and thanks to Bobo Vieri’s goal the Italians made it to the quarter-finals. Norway only once qualified for the European Championship finals, with the team suffering elimination in the group stages of the 2000 tournament in Belgium and Netherlands. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is the most famous Norwegian player and it is well known that he helped Manchester United beat Bayern Munich in the 1999 Champions League final.
The “Baby-faced” striker scored the winner for the Red Devils in the dying seconds of the match. Norway play their home games at Ullevaal Stadion, which was opened in September, 1926. The capacity of the venue is 28.000.