Belgium are aiming to put a disappointing Euro 2024 campaign behind them, with success in the Nations League now their priority.

Domenico Tedesco's side reached the last 16 in Germany, being knocked out after a 1-0 defeat to France thanks to Jan Vertonghen's own goal.

Belgium won just one of their four games at the tournament, finishing second behind Romania in the exceptionally tight Group E.

They had 20 shots on target throughout the tournament, but only scored two goals, with both of them coming in their victory over Romania in the second group game.

Forward Charles De Ketelaere, who played just six minutes in the tournament, says they are not focusing on the past.

"We talked about it yesterday so we can leave it behind," De Ketelaere said.

"We should have done better in the group stage so that we got an easier opponent in the last-16 than a top side like France.

"It's not just the coach's fault, because it's the players on the field who carry out the instructions. The only way to move forward is with the games ahead of us."

Belgium are turning their attention to the Nations League, where they will face Israel and France in League A Group 2 this international break.

With a potential title on the line if they can put on a strong show in the competition, De Ketelaere is confident Belgium can get back to their best.

"I just see it as two matches we want to win," De Ketelaere added. "The group is also still a [good chance to advance], even though the European Championship was not what we expected.

"I'm ready to show myself and do my best. I hope I get my chance. There will be more room to play, and I hope I can do my part."

Veteran Kevon Woodley is poised to make his much-anticipated debut in the Concacaf Nations League for Trinidad and Tobago, as he was named to Derek King’s 23-man squad to tackle League A opponents Honduras and French Guiana.

King, who was appointed on an interim basis after Angus Eve’s dismissal, is now charged with moving the senior Soca Warriors program forward and his selections for the September 6 and 10 contests signals a commitment of continuity and team chemistry.

Having served as an assistant to Eve, King’s squad features a core of players who were part of the former tactician’s squad that drew with Grenada and defeated Bahamas in their World Cup qualifying fixtures in June.

King’s side, which is without Greece-based forward Levi Garcia and Ajani Fortune, who are both unavailable, will travel to Honduras for Friday’s engagement before returning home to host French Guiana at the Dwight Yorke Stadium four days later.

Despite the absence of Garcia and Fortune, King remains confident in the strength and depth of the squad, which, along with Woodley, includes the likes of forward Reon Moore, defender Andre Raymond, box-to-box midfielder Andre Rampersad and goalie Denzil Smith.

“The team we’ve selected is one that has shown great potential and cohesion over the past few months. As we begin our group-stage campaign, the selected players are fit, focused and ready to perform at their best and I have been in discussion with each player about their expectations and responsibilities,” King said in a TTFA media release.

Woodley, 38, earned his Nations League call-up three months after earning his first senior Soca Warriors cap, as he has enjoyed good form for local club Police FC, including scoring a delightful header in a 1-4 Concacaf Caribbean Cup loss to Jamaica's Cavalier FC on August 29.

King pointed out that professionalism and hard work were key components in his selections.

“While it is never easy to narrow down the squad, I believe the players chosen are the ones who will help us navigate these two important fixtures successfully,” King declared.

“We need to be professional and disciplined in our approach and recognise the challenge of playing away from home in our opening match. It will be important that we maintain a high level of professionalism and remain focused throughout,” he added.

The Soca Warriors will depart for Honduras on Tuesday with last year’s campaign, which ended at the quarterfinal, at the top of their minds as they seek to replicate or even better that feat.

Trinidad and Tobago Squad -Christopher Biggette (Defence Force); Aubrey David (Deportivo Municipal); Triston Hodge (Hartford Athletic); Isaiah Lee (La Horquetta Rangers); Leland Archer (Charleston Battery); Andre Raymond (St Johnstone FC); Ryan Telfer (Halifax Wanderers); Duane Muckette (AC Port of Spain); Nathaniel James (Mount Pleasant FA); Real Gill (Northern Colorado Hailstorm); Daniel Phillips (Stevenage); Steffen Yeates (Pacific FC), Reon Moore (Pacific FC); Shannon Gomez (San Antonio FC); Dantaye Gilbert (Jong PSV); Alvin Jones (Police FC); Justin Garcia (Defence Force); Andre Rampersad (Halifax Wanderers); Noah Powder (Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC);
Kaile Auvray (Cavalier FC), Aaron Enill (Montego Bay United); Denzil Smith (AC Port of Spain); Kevon Woodley (Police FC)

Virgil van Dijk will play for the Netherlands at least until the 2026 World Cup after discussions with Ronald Koeman over his future.

The Liverpool defender, who has earned 74 caps since making his debut for the national team in October 2015, was awarded the captaincy by Koeman in 2018, during the manager's first spell in charge.

He has since led the team through three major tournaments, including two World Cups, with the Netherlands making it to the semi-finals at Euro 2024 before being knocked out by England.

And Koeman revealed he flew to Liverpool to have a face-to-face conversation with Van Dijk to persuade him to appear at the next major finals should they get there.

"I thought it was so important to go to him to see and feel with him: are you going to give it your all for another two years at the highest level and do you still see a future for yourself? And he does," Koeman told reporters.

"And I do the same with him. All doubt is gone, he just goes on.

"He admitted he did not reach the level you would expect from him as a player at the European Championship. As captain, I think he did a great job.

"But perhaps as a result, he put too much energy into others rather than into himself."

Koeman also confirmed that Steven Bergwijn, who sealed a deadline-day move to Al-Ittihad on Monday, is no longer in his plans after his move to the Saudi Pro League.

The forward scored eight goals in 35 appearances for the national team but failed to register a goal involvement at Euro 2024, albeit in just two starts.

Having also struggled at the start of the Eredivisie season for Ajax, making just one substitute appearance before his move, Koeman explained why the 26-year-old is no longer part of his plans.

"The book is basically closed to him. He knows what I think about this," Koeman said.

"When you are 26 [years old], your main ambition should be sporting, not financial. These are choices that players make.

"I have never been in that situation, because I could go to Barcelona. He could have stayed at Ajax. That's not bad, is it? You have to respect that choice, but personally, I wouldn't [have moved]."

Koeman clarified why he continued to call up Georginio Wijnaldum, who moved to Al-Ettifaq from Paris Saint-Germain in 2023, compared to his staunch approach to Bergwijn.

"Gini had problems at PSG and this was the only opportunity for him to still play," Koeman added.

"In addition, there is a difference in age [Wijnaldum moved aged 33]."

The Netherlands begin their Nations League campaign in League A Group 3 against Bosnia & Herzegovina on Saturday before playing Germany next week.

Didier Deschamps believes that Kylian Mbappe has what it takes to cope with the pressure of being a Real Madrid player.

Mbappe scored on his Los Blancos debut in the UEFA Super Cup against Atalanta but struggled to make an impact in LaLiga, enduring a slow start to life at the Santiago Bernabeu.

He failed to register a goal involvement in his first three league games for Madrid, but did net a brace against Real Betis in their final LaLiga outing before the international break.

Despite Mbappe not hitting the ground running at his new club, Deschamps says he never doubted that he would regain his scoring touch.

"I have no reason to feel relieved, obviously I am happy for him, even if he had already scored in the first game of the European Super Cup," Deschamps said.

"Kylian is used to this in his daily life, he sets very high standards for himself. His coach, Carlo Ancelotti, was not worried, and neither was I.

"Kylian has always scored goals, and he will score them."

His short dry spell in front of goal came on the back of a Euro 2024 campaign in which he scored just once, with that goal coming from the penalty spot.

Deschamps defended his captain during that competition and is confident Mbappe will be back in top form as they prepare for their opening Nations League matches against Italy and Belgium.

"The French national team is better when Kylian is there," Deschamps added.

"From experience, being in the French national team is a break that is good for many of them. He was not effective - at first - but I spoke to him, and he feels good.

"Obviously, he is not at his best yet, but he is not a robot or a superman. Expectations are high.

"He has a great capacity to absorb everything that happens on and off the pitch. But we can understand that human fatigue can be significant."

Bruno Fernandes is "perfectly aware" Manchester United are not ready for a Premier League title challenge but has defended his under-fire team-mate Casemiro after Sunday's loss to Liverpool.

United entered the first international break of the season 14th in the table with just three points, suffering back-to-back defeats to Brighton and Hove Albion and Liverpool.

A Luis Diaz brace and a Mohamed Salah strike condemned United to another embarrassing defeat at the hands of their old rivals, as Ten Hag became the first Red Devils manager to lose three home Premier League games by three or more goals within the space of a year.

United were also beaten 3-0 by Manchester City last October and fell to the same scoreline versus Bournemouth two months later.

Ten Hag is also the only United boss to ever start multiple Premier League seasons with two defeats from his first three games, with the Red Devils doing so three times in the last five campaigns overall (also 2020-21 and 2022-23).

Fernandes is under no illusions regarding the chasm that separates United from their rivals at present, telling DAZN in Portugal: "Yes, I am perfectly aware that this Manchester United is not ready to win the Premier League.

"We are fighting with the concrete and real objective of trying to finish in the top four, in the places that give access to the Champions League. 

"But there is still a lot to improve for the greater objective, and for my dream, which is to one day win this championship."

Casemiro was criticised after Sunday's match, having been replaced by 20-year-old Toby Collyer at half-time after making mistakes in the build-up to both of Diaz's goals.

The Brazilian lost possession 14 times in just 45 minutes on the field. Noussair Mazraoui (17) and Diogo Dalot (16) were the only United players to do so more often, with both playing the full 90.

Fernandes, however, has leapt to the defence of his midfield partner, saying: "Casemiro is more experienced than me, he played for the two best clubs in the world in terms of media coverage. He has a lot of quality. 

"Mistakes are going to happen to everyone. We just have to be more cautious when they are about to happen and compensate and correct them in time.

"We have to be more alert when we lose the ball, feel and smell the danger and be more objective. 

"Whenever we have opportunities, we have to score more goals. We have attacking quality, but few goals."

Luis Suarez has announced he will retire from international football after Uruguay's World Cup qualifier versus Paraguay on Friday.

Suarez is Uruguay's all-time leading goalscorer, having netted 69 times in 142 appearances, with only Diego Godin (161) winning more caps for La Celeste.

The striker helped Uruguay reach the semi-finals of the 2010 World Cup and win their 15th Copa America title in 2011, being named Player of the Tournament as he scored four goals including the opener in the final – a 3-0 victory over Paraguay.

Suarez will face the same opponents in his final international match on Saturday as Marcelo Bielsa's team look to build on a return of 13 points from their first six games in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualification process.

"I've been thinking about this and analysing this. I believe this is the right time," a tearful Suarez told reporters on Monday.

"I want to be relaxed when I play my last game with the national team. I'll be just as excited to play as I was in 2007 when I played for my national team for the first time.

"That 19-year old kid is now a veteran player, an older player, however you want to call it, with an incredible history with the national team, that will give his life for the team."

Suarez was memorably sent off for a handball on the goal line to deny Ghana a winning goal as La Celeste won the teams' 2010 World Cup quarter-final on penalties, while he missed the 2015 Copa America after receiving a nine-match ban for biting Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup.

"We did go through difficult moments. There were many," he added. "Personally, it was worse for me after my massive mistake in 2014.

"But there's nothing that I would reproach."

The 37-year-old played a limited role as Uruguay took the bronze medal at this year's Copa, making four substitute appearances with Darwin Nunez predominantly leading the line.

Suarez did, however, net a stoppage-time equaliser to take the third-place play-off versus Canada to penalties, also converting from the spot as Uruguay triumphed 4-3 in the subsequent shoot-out.

He has 16 goals in 20 MLS outings for Inter Miami this year, with only Christian Benteke and Cristian Arango (17 each) ahead of him in the Golden Boot race.

Al-Ittihad have announced the signing of Danilo Pereira from Paris Saint-Germain.

The midfielder, who was often deployed at centre-back for PSG, has moved to the Saudi Pro League in a deal reportedly worth €5million.

Pereira made 157 appearances for the French champions in all competitions over four years, winning three Ligue 1 titles, the Coupe de France twice, and the Trophee des Champions three times.

However, he had fallen out of favour, having not featured in any of Luis Enrique's matchday squads so far this season.

Pereira had the most blocks (25) among PSG players in the league last season, and completed the most passes (2084), while he won possession back 128 times, the fourth-best tally in the team.

Al-Ittihad have also confirmed the arrival of Steven Bergwijn from Ajax for a reported €25m.

The winger, who joined Ajax in July 2022, made 80 appearances, netting 31 goals and registering 41 assists.

John McGinn admitted that he is still not over Scotland's disappointing early exit at Euro 2024 as they prepare for their latest Nations League campaign.

Scotland only took one point from a possible nine in Germany, getting thrashed by the hosts in their opener before a late loss against Hungary snuffed out their hopes of reaching the knockout stages after a draw with Switzerland.

It followed a similar showing from the Tartan Army at Euro 2020 as they failed to make a mark on their major tournament return.

Having played in both European Championships for Scotland, McGinn said it was an experience that has stayed with him long after the tournaments finished.

"You definitely don't park them," McGinn said. "I still think about getting relegated at St Mirren. What I could have changed? What you could do better - these things never leave you.

"Everyone always says the highs in football make the lows worth it, but that's a lie, so it'll always be in the back of your head things you could have done differently both together as a team and individually.

"We've come a long way as a nation to qualify for these tournaments. We didn't want that to just be enough. We all know we could have done better in the summer, but now there's a new batch of players coming in, a sort of different feel with the squad, and hopefully, it'll re-energise all of us individually and hopefully everyone in the country as well."

Scotland's next aim is to reach their first World Cup since 1998.

Though qualifying for the 2026 tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico does not start until next year, the Nations League could be a potential route into the finals for Steve Clarke's side.

Scotland will play Poland and Portugal in League A Group 1 during the September international break, and McGinn wants to get off to a strong start as he sets his sights on the next major tournament.

"We've got a couple of years now to try to get to a World Cup," added McGinn.

"We've not achieved that in a long time. This group's managed to achieve things and break the pattern of not qualifying for tournaments. We've obviously not built on that.

"Thursday, it's about us getting on the front foot, embracing being in the top division in the Nations League, which is a first for us. We'll probably have a lot more people to prove wrong.

"We're all behind the manager, and he certainly seems hungry and ready to go again and, hopefully, we can do what no one's managed to do for a long time and get to another major tournament."

Aurelien Tchouameni has withdrawn from France's squad ahead of their Nations League fixtures due to a foot injury.

The 24-year-old left camp on Monday and has returned to Real Madrid, where he will undergo further assessment, though the injury is not thought to be serious.

Tchouameni had started all four of Madrid's opening LaLiga fixtures, having also played five times for France at Euro 2024 as they reached the semi-finals, but he will now miss Les Bleus' opening fixtures against Italy and Belgium.

The midfielder is the second Madrid player to pull out of Didier Deschamps' squad on Monday, with left-back Ferland Mendy also withdrawing due to a shin injury.

Matteo Guendouzi and Lucas Digne have been called up as their respective replacements.

It also follows the news that Dani Ceballos is set for a spell on the sidelines, with an ankle-ligament injury expected to keep him out for six weeks.

Cristiano Ronaldo says he has no intention to retire from international football yet, but does not expect it to be a difficult decision when the time comes.

The 39-year-old holds the record for the most caps and goals of any player in men's international football, netting 130 times in 212 games.

However, Ronaldo's future was called into question after an unconvincing Euro 2024 campaign in which he failed to hit the back of the net in five appearances.

The tournament in Germany was the sixth major finals Ronaldo has featured in, a record, and he became the first European player in history to make 50 appearances at major tournaments.

"When the time comes, I'll move on," he said. "It won't be a difficult decision to make.

"If I feel like I'm no longer contributing anything, I'll be the first to leave."

Ronaldo also said he "never considered leaving the national team" despite the criticism he received during the tournament.

"People's expectations of the national team were too high," Ronaldo added.

The forward has retained his place in the Portugal squad for their upcoming Nations League matches against Croatia and Scotland when he will be looking to score what will be his 900th career goal.

Jamaica's Reggae Boyz have made a crucial adjustment to their squad for the September window of the CONCACAF Nations League, calling up Jamal Lowe to replace the injured Leon Bailey. Bailey sustained an injury during Aston Villa's 2-1 victory over Leicester City in the English Premier League on Saturday, forcing him to withdraw from the national team.

Lowe, known for his versatility and attacking prowess, has been drafted in to fill the void left by Bailey. Lowe, who plays for Swansea City in the English Championship, will join the squad as they prepare for their opening match against Cuba at the National Stadium on September 6. This match is critical for the Reggae Boyz as they aim to start their campaign on a strong note.

The Reggae Boyz coaching staff expressed their disappointment at Bailey's injury but extended their best wishes for his recovery. "We wish Leon a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing him back in action soon," a team spokesperson said. 

Following the match against Cuba, Jamaica will continue their CONCACAF Nations League journey with another important fixture against Honduras. These matches will be vital for Jamaica as they look to advance in the competition and strengthen their position on the international stage.

Joshua Kimmich has been named as Germany's new captain following Ilkay Gundogan's international retirement last month.

The Bayern Munich player has made 91 appearances for the national team since his debut in May 2016, netting six goals, and has captained the side on 17 previous occasions.

Kimmich played in all five of Germany's games at Euro 2024 as they reached the quarter-finals, with Nagelsmann confirming how key a figure the versatile player is.

Real Madrid's Antonio Rudiger and Arsenal's Kai Havertz, who captained Germany at youth level, have been selected as vice-captains by Julian Nagelsmann.

"The captain places the team's opinion with the coaching team. Kimmich was the logical successor," Nagelsmann said.

"He leads the way with his mentality. We have a very good mix with these three players."

Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Jonathan Tah, Niclas Fullkrug and Pascal Gross have also been selected for Germany's new leadership council.

"The team council is a very good, responsible group," Nagelsmann added. "We selected it well; the players were all very happy and are keen to fill their roles."

Nagelsmann also confirmed that Ter Stegen will be Germany's number one following Manuel Neuer's international retirement in August.

The Barcelona goalkeeper made his debut in a pre-Euro 2012 friendly and has since made 40 appearances, keeping 12 clean sheets, with Neuer's continued presence stopping him from nailing down a starting spot.

"Marc is number one. And deservedly the number one," Nagelsmann said.

"He has performed well for several years. He has been captain at Barcelona for several years and is the undisputed number one with very, very good performances.

"And he will also fulfil that role for us. That's why he's the clear number one."

Germany will begin their Nations League campaign against Hungary on Saturday, before facing the Netherlands next week. 

Luciano Spalletti has vowed to improve on Italy's disappointing Euro 2024 showing ahead of the start of their Nations League campaign this week. 

The Azzurri needed Mattia Zaccagni's late strike against Croatia to advance to the knockout stages of the competition, but their journey ended the following game.

Hopes of retaining their crown were dashed at the hands of Switzerland, who struck either side of half-time to set up a meeting with England in the quarter-finals. 

The defeat marked their first knockout loss at the European Championship finals since the 2012 final against Spain (4-0), ending a run of six such games without defeat. 

Switzerland's triumph compounded Italy to their second defeat at the tournament, more than they had managed in any other of their appearances in the competition. 

But they will be hoping to get back on track in the Nations League, where they will face France and Israel this month, with Spalletti keen to look beyond their Euro 2024 display.

"When we talk about failure at the Euros, we need to be more precise in our analysis," Spalletti said. 

"Because in my opinion, it only relates to the game against Switzerland, which was very bad. 

"Now, we turn a new page and from now on, we have to think more about our identity.

"I am going to create a new group, a new team, putting less pressure on them, and hopefully they feel the beauty of the Azzurri shirt even more."

Spalletti was appointed as Italy's new head coach in August 2023 following Roberto Mancini's sudden resignation, giving him less than a year to prepare for Euro 2024.

Ahead of the tournament in Germany, Spalletti had won six of his 10 matches in charge (D3 L1), showing promising signs ahead of aiming to retain their crown. 

However, those results did not transpire, with Spalletti accepting the responsibility for Italy's poor showing in the competition. 

"I probably put too much pressure on them and did not give them the opportunity to enjoy the experience in an Italy shirt," he said.

"I need to be careful with trying new things or bringing a new message.

"I think this is the time to try something different, which inevitably means excluding some players."

One player not involved in their Nations League fixtures is new Liverpool signing Federico Chiesa, who completed a £12.5million transfer from Juventus last week. 

Chiesa was a key part of Italy's success at Euro 2020, scoring two goals in seven appearances on their way to the final. 

The 26-year-old featured in all four games at this year's edition, with Spalletti able to detail his omission from the squad. 

"Chiesa and I spoke and made a fair assessment, I would have brought him as an extra player, not participating in the games," Spalletti said. 

"He told me that he had spoken to his new club and that he needs to do specific preparation work with them."

The Premier League takes its first break for international fixtures over the next two weeks.

But we had plenty of thrills and spills on matchday three.

Everton were 2-0 up in the 87th minute against Bournemouth on Saturday, only for Sean Dyche's team to lose 3-2. Manchester City continued their perfect start, while Arsenal were held by Brighton, with Declan Rice sent off.

On Sunday, Newcastle United overcame Tottenham and Chelsea drew with Crystal Palace, while the headline fixture of the weekend saw Liverpool hammer Manchester United.

But which teams were lucky, and unlucky, on MD3?

Lucky winners: Bournemouth

Andoni Iraola claimed Bournemouth were fortunate to come from behind and beat Everton 3-2 at Goodison Park. The Toffees were leading by 2+ goals until the 87th minute – the latest a team has ever been 2+ goals ahead in a game they've gone on to lose in Premier League history.

The full-time stats perhaps suggest a different version of events to Iraola's take. Bournemouth finished with a higher expected goals (xG) than Everton (2.22 to 1.97) while having 17 shots to the hosts' 18.

But up until late on, Everton had complete control. Indeed, as of the 80th minute, Sean Dyche's team had mustered 18 shots, 11 more than Bournemouth.

And just to hammer that home, 1.79 of Bournemouth's 2.22 xG came from the 81st minute onwards. While the Cherries deserve credit for a smash-and-grab, it is fair to say that Everton, who had five big chances but scored just two of them, will have been left scratching their heads as to how they capitulated.

Unlucky losers: Chelsea

Okay, so technically, Chelsea are not 'losers' - they drew 1-1 with Palace on Sunday.

But, based on the metrics, they were extremely unfortunate not to beat Oliver Glasner's team.

Chelsea had 13 shots and accumulated 2.4 xG, which was the third highest across the weekend's games, behind Brentford (2.78) and Man City (3.0), albeit a huge chunk of it came from Nicolas Jackson's close-range finish.

Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson was in fantastic form, making some excellent saves to deny Noni Madueke and Cole Palmer and coming away with a goals prevented figure of 1.76, and ultimately, Eberechi Eze's stunner, which had an xG of just 0.06, was enough to claim a share of the spoils and frustrate Enzo Maresca.

Lucky winners: Newcastle United

Newcastle beat Spurs 2-1 at St James' Park, and Eddie Howe's team showed how clinical they can be.

They had nine shots, 11 fewer than Tottenham, but actually amassed a higher xG total (1.83 to 1.26), showing that the opportunities they created were quality ones.

Indeed, they converted both of their big chances, meaning they join Leicester City (1/1) as the only other team from the weekend to register a 100% big chance conversion rate.

Unlucky losers: Arsenal

Like Chelsea, Arsenal drew, but based on the underlying metrics, and even though they went down to 10 men when Declan Rice was sent off, they could be considered unfortunate not to have beaten Brighton.

Mikel Arteta's team finished with an xG of 2.14, the fifth-highest total from the weekend, while also creating five big opportunities, from which players would have been anticipated to do better, only for the Gunners to miss four of them.

On the flip side, Arsenal did face 22 shots going the other way, albeit those attempts did not account for a high xG (1.76).

Stale Solbakken has announced he is likely to step down as Norway head coach when his contract expires after the 2026 World Cup campaign.

The former midfielder took over the national side in 2020 with the hopes of returning Norway to a major tournament. However, he has been unable to qualify for one despite having players like Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard among his ranks.

Norway finished third in their qualification group for Euro 2024, six points below Scotland, having only won three of their eight matches.

With the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico coming up in 2026, Solbakken's sights are set on playing on the world stage for the first time since France 1998, but he says his time with the national team will not extend beyond that if they do qualify.

"I'll take this qualification now and then there's a high probability that I'll do something else after that regardless," he told reporters on Monday, adding he will remain in charge if Norway qualify for the World Cup and step down after the finals.

"While I'm still young and virile, I want to do something else too - I've said no to a number of club jobs that really tempted me, but I'm determined to make one last attempt here, and then I think that's it.

"I really enjoy being with the boys, but there are far too few [international] matches. The last seven or eight months have been a nightmare with four friendly games, and the last two leading into the boys' summer holidays."

Solbakken was part of Norway's squad in 1998 when they reached the last 16, and at Euro 2000 in the Netherlands and Belgium, Norway's last appearance at a major finals, as they failed to make it out of the group. 

Qualification for the 2026 World Cup begins in either March or June 2025, depending on the upcoming Nations League results, with Norway starting their League B Group 3 campaign against Kazakhstan on Friday.