Norway vs. Netherlands 9/1/21 European World Cup Qualifications Soccer Pick, Odds, and Prediction

Norway is hosting Netherlands at Ullevaal Stadion in round 4 of the Group G of the World Cup Qualifications. Norway, unfortunately, failed to qualify for the Euro Cup, but they have done well in these qualifications so far. Netherlands was outstanding in the group stage of the Euro Cup, but they lost to Czech Republic in the knockouts.

Norway is a solid young team on the rise, and they have some of the brightest young stars on their roster, Haaland and Odegaard. And while half of the European clubs are interested in Haaland, Odegaard just signed a permanent deal with Arsenal, and while he probably won’t win any titles, he will be playing in most of the games. Norway has 2 wins and 1 loss in these qualifications so far, and they are in 4^th place, but they are only 1 point behind Turkey who is at the top. Sorloth is the leading goalscorer for Norway in these qualifications with 2 goals. I like Norway, I think they are capable of playing really well, especially in the attacking end, but they really need to get Haaland on the scoresheet as soon as possible.

Netherlands also has 2 wins and 1 loss in these qualifications, but they have scored impressive 11 goals while conceding 4 goals in those 3 games. Netherlands is now in 2^nd place with 6 points. De Jong has scored 3 goals for Netherlands so far, while Berghuis, and Depay added 2 goals each. Netherlands is getting their leader and most reliable defender back, Virgil van Dijk, and that will certainly give them some consistency on the defensive end, which they desperately need. Most of the Netherlands’ players are in good form, especially the attackers, starting with Depay, and Weghorst, but their midfielders are also playing consistently, at least most of them. Losing to Czech Republic in the Euro Cup was a big disappointment for Netherlands, especially after they were so dominant in the group stage, but now it’s time to look forward and focus on these qualifications because it would be a tragedy if Netherlands doesn’t qualify for the World Cup.

Norway has never beaten Netherlands in the past, but they are playing at home in this game, and that is where they play great. Netherlands is a good offensive team, and I think they will score a goal here, but so will Norway.