The Socceroos will take on Norway in an international friendly tune-up prior to the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The match is scheduled to be played at Ullevaal Stadion in Norway and will take place on Saturday March 24 at 4am (AEDT).
The highly anticipated match will be first for the newly appointed team manager Bert van Marwijk. The first-year Dutch manager has said that he would have preferred more practice time and time to prepare than to play the upcoming friendly against Norway and the Roos’ future game versus Columbia.
Despite van Marwijk’s preference, his 37th-ranked squad has the opportunity to gain momentum heading into the World Cup facing a 57th-ranked Norway team.
This will be the third meeting between the two countries, with the last fixture ending in a 2-2 draw in 2004.
Kick off: 4am (AEDT)
Venue: Ullevaal Stadion
TV: Fox Sports, Channel Ten
Online: Foxtel App, Foxtel Now, Ten Play
Betting: Socceroos $3.40, Norway $2.00, Draw $3.10
Socceroos
Mat Ryan
Danny Vukovic
Brad Jones
Aziz Behich
Milos Degenek
Matthew Jurman
James Meredith
Josh Risdon
Trent Sainsbury
Aleksandar Susnjar
Bailey Wright
Josh Brillante
Mile Jedinak
Jackson Irvine
Massimo Luongo
Mark Milligan
Aaron Mooy
Tom Rogic
James Troisi
Tim Cahill
Tomi Juric
Robbie Kruse
Mattew Leckie
Andrew Nabbout
Nikita Rukavytsya
Dimitri Petratos
Norway
Sten Grytebust
Rune A. Jarstein
Orjan Nylan
Tore Reginussen
Havard Nordtveit
Kristoffer Ajer
Sigurd Rosted
Jonas Svensson
Birger Meling
Omar Elabdellaoui
Martin Linnes
Mohamed Elyounoussi
Martin Odegaard
Haitam Aleesami
Mats Moller Daehli
Stefan Johansen
Fredrik Midstjo
Ole Kristian Selnaes
Markus Henriksen
Iver Fossum
Tarik Elyounoussi
Joshua King
Alexander Sorloth
Bjorn Maars Johnsen
The friendly will be broadcast live on Fox Sports and Channel Ten, with coverage starting at 3:30am (AEDT) on both networks.
To stream the game online, you can use Foxtel’s streaming applications – either Foxtel Now, or the Foxtel App.
The Roar will also cover the match with a live blog and highlights.
Grobbelaar
Roar Guru
Are you really trying to make the case for Norway being a good team to watch?? I note no one is wanting to fall behind you on this one.
pacman
Guest
World Cup is 3 months away. The weather is unlikely to be anything like that which Oslo and London are presently experiencing. From Wikipedia: "The climate of western Russia is moderate, with mild to warm days and cool to mild nights...". Also: "Average noon temperatures of the host cities in June varies from about 18 degrees to about 24 degrees...". Likely to be a tad or more warmer for the afternoon kick-offs, so I doubt our two friendlies were organized with acclimatization in mind.
Kangajets
Guest
I think brilliante will be doing some defensive work to cover for petratos
Nemesis
Guest
"I’m not sure if the socceroos could have chosen a more drearier opponent than Norway." I laugh when I hear such stuff. Which Norway matches over the past 4 years have you watched & found dreary? You should stick to watching AFL. So much fun they're changing the rules to play on sokkah pitches.
Griffo
Roar Guru
It certainly looks cold. Mission accomplished. Australia's World Cup venue vs Denmark is still around freezing point at the moment...good planning.
Griffo
Roar Guru
It's a combination that is on fire in the A-League only a couple of weeks ago. Nabbout for Kruse. Petratos for Troisi. Letting Petratos play a roaming role up front behind the striker would suit him, and he knows what Nabbout does when running into space. How much van Marwijk expects Petratos to track back will be interesting if he is given some game time.
Kaks
Roar Guru
Have a feeling the opponent had more to do with the climate in Norway (similar to Russia's cold I suppose) than the quality.
Grobbelaar
Roar Guru
I'm not sure if the socceroos could have chosen a more drearier opponent than Norway.
Kangajets
Guest
Let’s hope petratos and Nabbout get some decent game time .