History of the Norway national football team
Olsen started his training career with Norway with a 6–1 home victory against surprise 1990 quarter-finalists Cameroon on 31 October 1990 and ended it on 27 June 1998 after a 0–1 defeat against Italy in the second stage of the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
In the 1994 World Cup in the United States, Norway was knocked out at the group stage after a win against Mexico, a defeat against Italy and a draw against the Republic of Ireland.
In France 1998, Norway was eliminated by Italy in the first round of the knock out stage after finishing second in their group, having drawn against Morocco and Scotland and won 2–1 against Brazil.
Near the end of the match, some Swedish spectators mockingly lowered the Norwegian flag at the stadium to half mast, which Gran took as a great insult.
The bad spell began to end near the turn of the decade, largely thanks to new star players like goalkeeper Henry "Tippen" Johansen and striker Jørgen Juve, who is Norway's all-time leading scorer on international level with 33 goals.
Even so, few people believed Norway would stand a chance in the Olympic tournament, especially since they were scheduled to face the host nation in the second round (if they could get past Turkey in the opener).
Although many players tried to keep fit, and a few illegal matches were organized, the six-year hiatus set Norwegian football back by several years – which became painstakingly evident in the first post-war game against Sweden in Stockholm on 21 October 1945.
When Sweden scored their ninth goal, team joker Kristian Henriksen reportedly told his teammates, "OK lads, lets go for a draw".
In 1952, Bredesen was signed a professional contract with Italian giants Lazio – and according to the NFF's self-imposed amateur rules, he was banished from the national team.
Nobody knows what Norway might have achieved if Per Bredesen had been available, but the amateur rules were still in force, even though they were somewhat relaxed in 1960 to allow another Italian exile, Ragnar Larsen, who had recently returned home, to once again play for his country.
Though the home-based amateur only rule was retained, Norway boasted a promising side including Finn Seemann, Harald Berg, Olav Nilsen and Egil Olsen.
The Yugoslavs had finished second in the 1960 European Championship a few years earlier, and was rated as one of the continent's top sides – but they had to travel home from Ullevaal with a 3–0 defeat in their bags thanks to goals from Finn Seemann, Odd Iversen and the new star player from northern Norway, Harald "Dutte" Berg.
Guided by Tom Lund and new head coach Tor Røste Fossen, Norway defeated both Sweden and Switzerland in the qualifying campaign for the 1978 FIFA World Cup.
The win against Sweden was somewhat marred by Svein Grøndalen's vicious tackle on Swedish star player Ralf Edström, but when Norway played their last World Cup qualifier away against Switzerland, they still had a theoretical chance of reaching the finals.
Arne Larsen Økland emerged as a pivotal figure, clinching victory with a decisive goal in the crucial away fixture against the German side.
The good run continued with a 6–1 win against Finland (a game where Pål Jacobsen scored four goals) and victory against Switzerland in a World Cup qualifier.
Narrow defeats against Hungary and Romania in the spring of 1981 ensured that Norway once again failed to reach the World Cup finals, but they still had pride to play for when England entered Ullevaal on 9 September 1981.
However, Tom Lund retired at the end of the 1982 season, and without their playmaker, Norway was once again a mediocrity and gained only one point in the remaining Euro qualifiers, and once again finished last in the group.
These two formed the backbone of a side that otherwise included youngsters like Øyvind Leonhardsen, Stig Inge Bjørnebye, Lars Bohinen and Erik Mykland.
The first indication that Norway had a great team in the making came in the Euro qualifier against Italy on 5 June 1991, where goals from Bohinen and Tore André Dahlum led the side to a 2–1 win.
Towards the end of the Euro qualifiers, Olsen recalled former youth prodigy Kjetil Rekdal, who had been out of the national team for more than two years after a failed spell in the Bundesliga.
This match was followed by a surprising win against the Netherlands, and when Norway managed a draw in the away game against England through Kjetil Rekdal's 35-yard screamer, the Norwegian public were starting to believe that the national team might actually reach the finals.
The road to the World Cup continued in 1993, when Norway won 3–1 against Turkey, followed by a great 2–0 win against England and a somewhat fortunate goalless draw against the Netherlands in Rotterdam.
The World Cup tickets were secured on 13 October, when Norway defeated Poland by 3–0 in Poznań after goals by Jostein Flo, Jan Åge Fjørtoft and Ronny Johnsen.
After a slow start to the UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying campaign, Norway won their last seven games and reached the European Championship finals for the first time in their history.
Despite the ever-increasing criticism, Semb remained in charge for the UEFA Euro 2004 qualifiers, where Norway eventually finished second behind Denmark, and faced a two-leg playoff against Spain.
In the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, results have been varying – ranging from an impressive 3–0 win against Slovenia to a disappointing home defeat against Scotland.
However, Norway lost 1–2 after a poor performance, and were eliminated in the final round of qualification, with Turkey securing their place with a victory against Bosnia and Hercegovina.
Norway started the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying campaign brightly, with a 2–1 victory against Iceland at Reykjavík with goals from Brede Hangeland and Mohammed Abdellaoue, followed by a 1–0 win over Portugal four days later.
In the playoffs, Norway were drawn against Serbia in the semi-finals, where despite a late equalizer, subsequently lost in extra time, and resultingly missed out on qualification for Euro 2020.
