Egil “Drillo” Olsen, who coached the Norwegian national football team to the World Cup in 1994, is now full of praise and optimism for today’s team. He thinks they won’t only qualify for next year’s World Cup, but make it all the way to the finals.

“We have ‘world class’ players, we are well-organized,” Drillo told Norway’s TV2 after the team beat Estonia 4-1 in one of the last qualifiers Thursday night. That makes it almost certain that Norway will finally qualify for its first World Cup in decades, pending the result of its last qualifying match against Italy this weekend.

Current coach Ståle Solbakken, never one to be easily satisfied, laughed off Olsen’s comment at a post-match press conference. “He has some experience,” Solbakken said sarcastically, “but I think he’s mistaken there.”

Thursday evening’s match on home turf in Oslo, initially tarnished by a player’s legal trouble, got off to a bad start for Norway and the Estonian defense won respect from the Norwegians. Scoring took off in the second half, though, with two goals by Alexander Sørloth followed by two more from Norwegian superstar player Erling Braut Haaland. Estonia also scored just after 64 minutes of play.

It all played out amidst patriotic fanfare in a packed stadium where spectators included King Harald V, Crown Prince Haakon, Crown Princess Mette-Marit and their son Prince Sverre Magnus in the grandstands. Estonian coach Jürgen Henn was also impressed by the Norwegians, saying they “have all ingredients, quality and experience to go far at the World Cup.”

NewsinEnglish.no staff