UEFA Euro Qualifiers: Spain vs Norway Odds, Erling Haaland Out for Norwegians

New Era Begins for Spain

Haaland Out for Norway

Following Spain’s round of 16 exit at the FIFA World Cup, coach Luis Enrique stepped down. La Furia Roja enter a new era as former Spain U-21 coach Luis de la Fuente is the new boss for their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign. His first squad could certainly be described as experimental, with some notable omissions. Speaking of notable omissions, Erling Haaland is a late scratch for Spain’s first opponents Norway. It’s a big blow for the Norwegians, as Haaland has been in incredible form for Manchester City. With Haaland out and Spain in flux, we’ll preview the Spain vs Norway odds.

UEFA Euro Qualifiers Game Info:

Spain vs Norway

Location: Estadio La Rosaleda, Malaga, Spain
Day/Time:
Streaming: FS2

Head-to-Head:

Spain vs Norway odds often favor La Furia Roja in this fixture. Spain hold a 5-1 lead over Norway in the all-time series, with two draws. The last meeting, in 2019, did finish in a 1-1 draw in Oslo as Norway’s Josh King converted a 90th minute penalty. However, Spain are a perfect 4-0 vs Norway on home soil and will look to continue that trend here.

Multiple Spain Players With Opportunity to Impress

  • Next Match: March 28th at Scotland
  • Key Injuries: GK Unai Simon, D Cesar Azpilicueta, M Pedri, F Gerard Moreno

New Spain coach Luis de la Fuente has wasted no time shaking things up. He’s called up just one player (Alvaro Morata) with over 50 caps, which means players normally on the outside looking in should get opportunities during this batch of qualifiers. Longtime midfielder Sergio Busquets recently announced his international retirement and Koke and Thiago Alcantara are not in the side. Star center mid Pedri is also injured. This could mean we see a midfield trio of Gavi, Rodri and one of Mikel Merino, Fabian Ruiz Dani Ceballos and Martin Zubimendi.

Even with a new look, Spain figure to be one of the best European teams. Both have struggled with injuries over the past year but Dani Olmo and Mikel Oyarzabal are two highly creative attacking-minded players. In defense, veterans like Dani Carvajal, Aymeric Laporte and Nacho are in the side. De La Fuente has also called up exciting Tottenham fullback Pedro Porro and 19-year old Alejandro Balde. It may take time to work out his preferred back line, but there are some solid options out there.

Recall that Spain went 1-1-1 in the group stage of the FIFA World Cup, finishing second in Group E behind Japan. In the round of 16, La Furia Roja looked out of ideas and failed to score vs Morocco. Spain lost in a PK shootout following a scoreless draw which prompted Luis Enrique to resign. Spain went unbeaten 8-2-0 in Euro 2020 qualifiers and reached the semifinals in the main tournament. They’ll hope to return to a former glory which saw them win three major tournaments in a row from 2008 to 2012.

Norway Missing Best Player

  • Next Match: March 28th at Georgia
  • Key Injuries: D Kristoffer Ajer, F Erling Haaland, F Josh King

In 37 appearances for Manchester City this season, Erling Haaland has scored an incredible 42 goals. He’s the favorite to win the Premier League Golden Boot and the European Golden Shoe. The big Norwegian also recently scored five goals in a Champions League match vs RB Leipzig. However, Norway will be without their main goalscoring threat as Haaland misses out on the March qualifiers through injury. It’s an incredibly tough task to fill Haaland’s shoes as he has also scored 21 goals in 23 appearances for Norway. It’ll be up to Alexander Sorloth to lead the line and he’s had a fine season for Real Sociedad.

The sense is that it’s now or never for Norway, as they haven’t qualified for a major tournament since Euro 2000. With a talented crop of players led by Haaland and Martin Odegaard, Norway will look to finish in the top two in Euro 2024 qualifying Group A. After this match vs Spain, they’ve got Georgia on their UEFA Euro fixtures list. Along with Haaland, Stale Solbakken and Norway will be missing defender Kristoffer Ajer and forward Josh King.

While Haaland gets plenty of plaudits, Martin Odegaard has been excellent for Arsenal this season. The Gunners’ captain could conceivably win the Premier League Player of the Year award and he sees passes that many other players don’t. In 27 EPL appearances, Odegaard has registered 10 goals and six assists and is a relentless presser on defense. He’s a player who makes his teammates better and he’ll need to be at his best for Norway to compete with Spain.

Match Analysis & Odds:

Spain will breathe a huge sigh of relief knowing they don’t have to defend Erling Haaland on Saturday. With Haaland out, Spain are also 1.5-goal favorites at +105 odds to cover the spread. It’s hard to know what to expect from Spain, especially since their coach has never managed at the senior international level before. There’s talent there but it may take some time to build cohesion. Norway were solid in 2022, with two wins over Sweden and a win over Serbia. They’re certainly not to be taken lightly, even without Haaland. The Norwegians show -135 odds to cover and +825 odds to get just their second-ever win vs Spain.

A draw on Spanish soil would be a big confidence boost for Norway as well. A deadlock comes in at +385 odds and proceedings finished all square the last time these teams met. However, Norway have never even picked up a point on Spanish soil before. With a 4-0 record at home vs Norway, Spain are -290 moneyline favorites heading into this match. Odegaard and Sorloth aren’t the only Norway players to watch for. Midfielders Sander Berge and Mohamed Elyounoussi and defenders Leo Ostigard and Julian Ryerson could play big roles here.

Spain’s starting XI is likely to be mostly a mystery until close to kick off. One would think Alvaro Morata would start up top but Iago Aspas could also get the nod. Talented young wingers Nico Williams and Yéremy Pino could be super subs in this match, injecting a much-needed burst of pace. Spain managed nine goals in just four games at the World Cup and the Spain vs Norway odds price over 2.5 goals at -120 for this match. It’ll be interesting to see how Norway copes without Haaland and how Spain’s Luis de la Fuente era begins.

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