Group 2: Norway needing a tonic

By Ken Martin

Norway are confident of returning to winning ways against Romania in their UEFA EURO 2004™ qualifier in Oslo on Wednesday night, according to midfield player Eirik Bakke.

Bounce back
The Norwegians surrendered their unbeaten Group 2 record on Saturday to Denmark but Bakke insists Nils Johan Semb's side will bounce back. "Of course we are disappointed to have lost the Denmark game but there are three more qualifying games to play and we have to respond in the right way against Romania," the Leeds United AFC player told uefa.com.

'Still in control'
"We weren't at our best on Saturday and we know we can't afford to put in another performance like that. It's a setback but not a disaster. We're still level on points at the top of the table with Denmark and two of the last three qualifying matches are at home. There is absolutely no reason to panic - we are still in control of our own fate."

New approach
The 1-0 defeat means Norway share top spot in Group 2 with Denmark, equal on ten points but second due to the sides' head-to-head record. Bakke believes Norway have improved since their early exit at EURO 2000™, their last appearance at a major finals. "We have grown a lot as a team through qualifying and I feel we have much more power in attack and we play in a more positive way. Let's hope that philosophy will book us a trip to Portugal."

Lundekvam positive
Defender Claus Lundekvam, whose place in central defence is expected to go to the fit-again Henning Berg, was equally positive when he said: "Our previous style didn't help us much as all the teams we played against knew how to play against us and made it difficult for us. We found that very hard. But now we also have a lot of good skilful players so that we can play."

'Three-horse race'
One such player, John Carew, could make way for Tore Andre Flo up front. Norway's opponents Romania lie third in Group 2 - one point off the leaders - after Saturday's 2-0 home victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina. Bakke said it was now a "three-horse race" for first place and automatic qualification.

Ganea warning
The Romania squad left for Norway on Sunday and coach Anghel Iordanescu said: "We are going to Oslo to win". Romania's lineup on Saturday was notable for the absence, for the first time in 15 years, of any members of their so-called 'golden generation' and their lack of experience showed in the first half, where they struggled. Striker Ionel Ganea, a scorer against Bosnia, was certainly not getting carried away when he said: "Norway are a very solid team with a very tight defence and it's not so easy to score against them."

Gronkjær fit
Wednesday's other match pits top against bottom, as Denmark visit Luxembourg. It is a fixture that reunites former Denmark team-mates Morten Olsen and Allan Simonsen, now the respective coaches. Olsen was relieved to hear that Jesper Gronkjær, who scored the winner against Norway, is fit to play having limped off in the second half with an ankle injury.

Captain's warning
Denmark struggled in beating Luxembourg 2-0 last autumn and lost to Bosnia, however, and captain René Henriksen warned: "We have to remember the lesson from the Bosnia game and be patient. Simply the points would be great. We have got the chance to decide our future, and we must not blow that chance." Gronkjær added: "If we cannot win in Luxembourg, our win against Norway will be worth nothing."

Eirik Bakke's personal website is at www.icons.com 
Additional reporting by Marcus Christenson, Paul-Daniel Zaharia and Peter Bruun