Norway have reached the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time in their history but a sickness bug could hamper their chances of beating England this Saturday
Orjan Nyland has shed light on the sickness bug plaguing the Norway camp in the build-up to their World Cup quarter-final with England, saying the team doctor is “very busy at the moment”.
Nyland and Co booked a showdown with England this Saturday after stunning Brazil on Sunday courtesy of a late brace from the imperious Erling Haaland. It is the first time in their history that they have reached the quarter-final stage of the World Cup and they have emerged as one of the tournament dark horses.
With Haaland in tow, Norway will fancy their chances of another upset when they take to the field with England.
However, it emerged earlier this week that a sickness bug has rocked the camp during their preparations for the game, sparking fears elsewhere that Norway could be below strength at the weekend.
And their goalkeeper, Nyland, has confirmed that the sickness bug has impacted the team in the past few days.
He told James Corden: “I can confirm that it’s true, we’ve had our issues, we’re doing the best we can and the team doctor is very busy at the moment. I have no idea what the source was, we did have some time off so maybe someone contracted something.
“Hopefully everything goes well and we face England with a fully rested squad on Saturday.”
Norway have had to contend with sickness throughout their World Cup campaign with Marcus Holmgren Pedersen missing the historic win over Brazil. Jorgen Strand Larsen, the Crystal Palace striker, was also absent from their World Cup opener due to illness.
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Norwegian outlet Dagbladet reports that fatigue has played a role with all the air travel the team have had to undertake. They are based in Greensboro, North Carolina and have had games in Boston, New Jersey and Dallas.
Norway’s manager, Stale Solbakken, said after the 4-1 loss to France in their final group game: “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.”
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