Norway welcome already-relegated Kazakhstan to Oslo on the final matchday of the UEFA Nations League on Sunday evening.
The hosts are assured of a top-two finish in Group B3, but can seal automatic promotion to League A simply with a favour from Slovenia in Vienna.
Match preview
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Norway's brilliant 4-1 win away in Slovenia on Thursday means they are guaranteed to finish above Matjaz Kek's side regardless of what happens on matchday six.
That means a top-two place is guaranteed, but first place will be the aim, and Stale Solbakken's men are currently level on points with Austria.
However, the 5-1 defeat they suffered in Austria last month means the current group leaders have the edge on head-to-head.
What is peculiar though is that no matter what happens here in Oslo, if Austria lose to Slovenia, Norway will win the group, because if all three teams finish on 10 points, their overall three-team head-to-head record will be superior.
After three straight campaigns in League B, promotion will be the target, and with the players at Solbakken's disposal, the Norwegian supporters will believe they are capable.
The big win in Slovenia rounded off a hectic set of away results for Norway in this group, as they also lost heavily in Austria, and were the only side to drop points to Kazakhstan.
At home though, Norway have been impressive, beating their two promotion rivals, but the inconsistency of results across all venues is exactly the reason why they continue to miss out on major tournaments.
Solbakken has not been a popular figure in recent years, and it is unclear whether he will guide the team in 2026 World Cup qualifying next year, but one thing is for sure and it is that fans are becoming impatient.
Any neutrals watching on here will hope for a tad more entertainment than what was produced in the reverse fixture - a 0-0 draw in Almaty where Norway managed just one shot on target and Kazakhstan's xG was below 0.1.
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Since that promising matchday one draw though, Kazakhstan have been abysmal; not coping well with the increased level of competition since their promotion from League C.
Having started in League D when the Nations League was first inaugurated, the climb the Hawks have made is commendable, and after coming within a whisker of qualifying for Euro 2024, there are now fears that their level could be dropping again.
Across the entire UNL, Andorra are the only other side yet to score a goal, and that stat is made to look even worse when it is taken into consideration that Andorra have only played twice, compared to Kazakhstan's five.
Since beating San Marino on matchday nine of Euro 2024 qualifying, Stanislav Cherchesov's men have played 11 matches, including friendlies, and lost nine, with the only win coming against Turkmenistan in March.
Team News
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Norway captain Martin Odegaard was not risked for this international window, with the Arsenal midfielder only recently back from a two-month absence, remaining on the sidelines with many other members of the squad, including Oscar Bobb, Hugo Vetlesen, and goalkeeper Orjan Nyland.
Nyland's absence means Norway's options in goal are all inexperienced, but Egil Selvik has been the man deputising of late, and he should win a fourth cap here.
There are injury issues ahead of Selvik though, as Norway are without defensive trio Kristoffer Ajer, Andreas Hanche-Olsen and David Moller Wolfe due to injury.
On the field, Erling Haaland netted his 35th international goal in just his 38th cap against Slovenia, while Antonio Nusa tripled his Norway tally in one night, by scoring a brace in Ljubljana last week.
Kazakhstan will be without experienced defender Aleksandr Marochkin after he was sent off inside 25 minutes for a professional foul in the home defeat with Austria on Thursday, and with Nuraly Alip not part of the squad, Adilbek Zhumakhanov could be the man to replace him.
Bauyrzhan Islamkhan will hope to get more time to influence proceedings here, as he was the player sacrificed following that red card, while key man Bakhtiyor Zaynutdinov will simply appreciate the game time he is getting for his national team, with the midfielder completely out of the picture at Besiktas currently.
Norway possible starting lineup:
Selvik; Pedersen, Ostigard, Heggem, Ryerson; Donnum, Berge, Johnsen; Sorloth, Haaland, Nusa
Kazakhstan possible starting lineup:
Pokatilov; Astanov, Kasym, Darabayev, Zhumakhanov, Vorogovskiy; Islamkhan, Zaynutdinov, Tagybergen, Samorodov; Aymbetov
We say: Norway 4-0 Kazakhstan
After a very impressive attacking display in Ljubljana on Thursday night, Norway will be brimming with confidence and should have no problem in claiming all three points, as most involved with the Lions may have one eye on events in Vienna.
Kazakhstan have lost 11 of their last 14 away games, and without a goal yet in the group, another difficult night looms for a nation that are slightly out of their depth, and a long way from home.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Andrew Delaney
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