The Haaland aircraft:
But Oscar Bobb (22) dramatizes why there was a change at the last minute.
- Norway – Moldova, at 20.45 Tuesday
STORO (Dagbladet): Here the stairs opens on the private flight when Erling Braut Haaland (25) landed at Gardermoen last Sunday.
Seconds later, the titanen put his legs on Norwegian soil. So did the cohabitant Isabel Haugseng Johansen and Fulham player Sander Berge.
Manchester City teammate, Oscar Bobb, confirms that he should have been with the same aircraft before the international matches against Finland and Moldova. But at the last minute there was a change.
This made it go cold down the back of City fans.
At the press conference on Monday, national team coach Ståle Solbakken stated that Bobb had to go to a scan. City lost 2-1 against Brighton last Sunday. But Bobb had to postpone the return journey after apparent trouble.
For Haaland it went smoother: He drove directly from Brighton to London – and narrowed to Norway in a private plane.
– Why did you have to go through a scan?
– There was nothing. I knew something in my thigh, and then it turned out that there was nothing, says Bobb to Dagbladet. Instead, it was returned through Copenhagen the next day.
Bobb was out for much of last season due to a bone fracture. Several Manchester City supporters feared the incident last Sunday could have something to do with this.
But on Thursday he played 90 minutes in the 1-0 win over Finland.
– Contributed with fixed dribbles and passes. Enjoyable to watch, but slightly extinguished in the match, it was called on the player exchange in Dagbladet. Bobb got five out of ten points.
The fact that Norway currently has two profiles that play on Manchester City is on the border of sensational. After the 4-0 victory over Wolverhampton in the first match, coach Pep Guardiola said:
– Now I realize how much we missed Bobb last season.
To Dagbladet, the 22-year-old says about the rose:
– It’s great. It’s always nice.
– What kind of relationship do you have for Guardiola? He obviously has a great deal of confidence in you?
– Yes, good. It’s a very nice guy. We have a professional relationship. He’s nice.
But the 21-year-old from Oslo does not feel confident that the starting place is now his.
– It’s pretty early. We have had some injuries in my position. I don’t want to say that I’m secured anything. I don’t look at myself as someone who has that place completely, he says.
– When I come back now, I focus on what I’ve always done. It is everyday, and to train to get back into the team.
The press conference with Ståle Solbakken took an unexpected turn. Video: NTB, Sørø Olsen/Dagbladet TV sport
On Tuesday, the World Cup qualification awaits Moldova. The question is how Solbakken will compose the team.
He probably starts with Erling Braut Haaland, Antonio Nusa and Alexander Sørloth. Sørloth’s role as a lateral tip challenges Bobb’s position on the edge.
– Can you have more roles on the national team?
– I like to play offensively in the middle or side. Wherever it is, I’m happy, he points out.
– Ståle is pretty good at talking to us and asking what we think. But it is he who decides in the end. He talks a lot to me about it.
Solbakken is pleased with what Bobb performed against Finland on Thursday.
– He delivered well for periods. He has some holes defensively in relation to the pressure game. He sometimes pushes into the wrong zone and some things. He understands it, but he has not been with us that long. He has not been with us in so many speed sessions, says Solbakken to Dagbladet.
Released in the night
– When things go fast and there should be automatic in it, he does some weird things defensively in relation to our zone game. But with the ball it is top. He is one of the best to play in small areas. He has a great future ahead of him.
– Antonio Nusa has drawn parallels to Lionel Messi. Is it to pull it a little far?
– A little far, says Solbakken and smiles.
