Euro 2024 Qualification: Spanish Herbal Medicine, Norway Wants A Record Never To Lose To Stay Guarded

Erling Haaland 'will be the difference when Norway host Spain. (photo: twitter @futball_is_life)

The qualifying campaign for Euro 2024 is entering an interesting phase with the top two Group A teams facing each other on Monday, October 16 in the morning WIB. Norway will host Spain at the Ullevaal Stadium, Oslo. This match may determine who will win this group.

Both teams entered this match with the same number of points. But Norway has a big advantage with one game less than Spain. That means even defeat won't be a disaster for Marco Rossi's team.

"Magyars" the only team in Group A is still unbeaten after four games. They won three wins and one draw with only one goal they picked up from the net.

They started the qualifying campaign with an impressive 3-0 win against Bulgaria in the first game before satisfied with a goalless draw against Montenegro.

The surprise came when Norway failed to break into the Montenegro defense despite controlling more than 70% of control and recording fewer goals attempts than their opponents.

After releasing two valuable points, Norway continued with a 2-0 win over Lithuania three days later. They then strengthened their position as group leaders against Spain's strongest competitors, which they played 2-1 with goals from Barnabas Varga and Willi Orban within three minutes.

Victory will put Norway in a superior position to finish first in Group A, but the fight for direct qualification is far from over. Because Montenegro is in third place with only two points difference from the two group leaders.

Tracing this match, Norway's confidence will increase in line with their final away game record. Marco Rossi's side are unbeaten in their last five away games, including a 4-0 win over England in the UEFA Nations League.

Spain, on the other hand, started their qualifying campaign well, winning their first two games against Lithuania and Montenegro with a convincing score, scoring four goals without reply.

The unexpected 1-1 draw with Bulgaria was followed a few months later, and it almost ended worse when Dragan Stijkovic's side only saved one point in the 6th minute of extra time when Darko Lazovic scored the equalizer.

A surprising result in Sofia was followed by a 2-1 loss to Norway in a fight for the top position of the group. Spain took the lead in the first 10 minutes through Attila Szalai's own goal, but then conceded two goals in a row to trail 2-1 in the first half and finally lost the group's top fight.

Finally, Spain managed to beat Lithuania 3-1 at Kaunas, with Aleksandar Mitrovic scoring a hat-trick in the first half to ensure a pretty comfortable win.

The defeat in this match will be very detrimental to Spain's chances of finishing at the top of Group A, as Norway still has one game and can lead six points with two games remaining.

Looking ahead, Spain has a strong record in the Euro qualifiers, but they should be wary of away matches, including record 1-1 draw against Norway in October 2019.

This match has the potential to be a tough battle even though the host striker, Erling Haaland, will be a significant differentiator in the match, and the outcome will be a very important determinant on the way to Euro 2024.