Norway – Azerbaijan

Norway hosts Azerbaijan in a World Cup qualifying game from Group C. This is a typical match between two teams who are already out of the fight.

Norway are not enjoying a very good campaign so far. They are currently 5th in the standings with just 4 points won from 6 games so far. They have one win, one draw and four losses, which is not a record to be proud of. Their goal difference is 6:10 at the moment.

In their last five games Norway managed to win just once – against the outsider San Marino. In their last three matches they won just one point – during the draw with Czech Republic at home.

Azerbaijan are currently 4th in the standings with 7 points won so far. Their record is two wins, one draw and three losses. Goal difference is 3:9. They are currently in a very unpleasant run of three consecutive losses from Northern Ireland, Germany and again Northern Ireland.

On theory Azerbaijan have some chances to beat Czech Republic for the third place in the group, but maybe the most realistic goal for them is keeping the 4th place off Norway. For them finishing 4th is not a bad achievement, so maybe this is the goal they are going to fight for.

As for Norway, we could say the same. They could still win the 4th place in the group, but they must beat Azerbaijan at any cost. If they do it, they will become 4th in the group because of a better goal difference.

These two teams play only about their honour now. It remains to be seen how much exactly they want to defend it. Now they will have a good chance to show their fans that they are still ready to defend the national shirts.