Norway vs Scotland: Back flying Scotsmen to make it three from three
- Matty Briggs
- 15 June 2023
Scotland take on Norway in Oslo on Saturday having made a perfect start to Euro 2024 qualifying with two wins from two games.
Home wins against Cyprus and Spain have propelled the Scots, but this is their first away game against a tricky opponent.
Date, KO time and TV coverage
Euro 2024 qualifier, Saturday June 17, Kick-off 5pm, live on Viaplay 1
Predicted score
Suggested bets
Scotland to beat Norway
Norway vs Scotland under 2.5 goals
Key stats
Scotland have lost only two of their last 14 games against Norway
Scotland defeated Norway 1-0 in their last meeting in 2013
Scotland have won their first two Euro 2024 qualifiers
Norway have won just one of their last six games
Scotland team news
John Souttar is a major doubt for Scotland. Grant Hanley and Scott McKenna are out already, but Ryan Porteous, Jack Hendry, Kieran Tierney, Liam Cooper and Dominic Hyam are all options.
Tony Ralston was replaced by Ross McCrorie, while Nathan Patterson and Cooper stayed back at their clubs initially but could feature.
Norway vs Scotland verdict
Scotland will take to the field at the Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo top of their group and full of optimism.
Just how much the superb 2-0 win over Spain has done for their confidence remains to be seen, but Scotland are flying. They will arrive in fine fettle for their qualifiers this June after desperately disappointing defeats to Ukraine and the Republic of Ireland at this point last year.
Preparation has been key and assistant boss John Carver has made it clear that Scotland's prep this time around has been perfect.
Two home wins over Cyprus and Spain have the Scots in pole position and they are a tasty-looking 3/1 to make it three from three.
Steve Clarke's men had just 25% possession in their shock win over Spain, but they were good value for the victory in a match in which they had more shots than their illustrious visitors.
They are expected to have more of the ball against Norway, but the hosts could still dominate possession. That will not worry Clarke too much, but he will be mindful of giving too much space to the likes of Martin Odegaard and Erling Haaland.
Norway have one point so far after defeat by Spain and a draw with Georgia, but Saturday is their first home game in Group A.
They managed more possession (36%) than Scotland against Spain, but they were nowhere near as threatening, while their draw with 77th-ranked Georgia last time out was a huge disappointment.
That result left the Norwegians and boss Stale Solbakken under pressure. Just how they deal with that pressure will determine their Euro qualifying fate, but Scotland are more than capable of piling on more woe.
Scotland's game plan will be similar to the tactics that saw them outmuscle Spain. Andy Robertson's guile and Scott McTominay's powerful running did for a Spain side that struggled to break through their determined hosts.
Norway have gone seven games without a clean sheet. They have also conceded 10 goals since the 0-0 draw at home to Slovenia, while Scotland have looked resolute in defence and dangerous in attack. We expect them to win here.
