World Cup ’94 : WORLD CUP USA ’94 / GROUP E PREVIEW : A Norwegian Cruise : Scandinavians Qualified Impressively, Have Sights Set on Even Bigger Prize

Norway is not known as a soccer power, but in 1993 it took the sport to heart as never before when the national team qualified for the World Cup.

It was a soccer Cinderella story that captivated the nation.

Not only were the Norwegians able to qualify for the first time since 1938 and only the second time in their history, they did so despite being in the same group as such traditional powers as England, the Netherlands and Poland.

“We honestly did not expect to go through,” 28-year-old defender Gunnar Halle said, “and we certainly never imagined we would finish on top of the qualifying group.

“We surprised ourselves a little bit. I thought Holland and England would qualify, but we played well, got a bit of luck and stayed in front.”

And that is where the Norwegians finished. They won their qualifying group with seven victories, two ties and only one defeat--away to Turkey in their final, ultimately meaningless game.

Along the way they outscored their opponents, 25-5, and set all sorts of records.

The first came in Norway’s first game, a 10-0 victory over San Marino in Oslo. It was the biggest margin of victory in a World Cup qualifying match in Europe since West Germany beat Cyprus, 12-0, en route to the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.

“It is easy to say that they were very bad,” said Norway’s colorful and outspoken coach, Egil Olsen, “but some of our goals were pearls!”

There were more surprises to follow.

A couple of weeks after beating San Marino, Norway played the Netherlands in Oslo and, to the delight of its fans, scored a 2-1 victory, its first over the Dutch in 30 years.

Dutch superstar Marco Van Basten had warned his teammates not to take the Norwegians lightly.

“Scandinavian soccer has a strong wind in its sails,” he said. “Even though Norway has not been in any finals for a very long time, it is an opponent one has to be sharp to beat.”

The triumph over the Netherlands had Olsen praising his team.

“With this win we have broken a barrier in Norwegian soccer’s long history,” he said. “For the first time, we beat one of the world’s top soccer nations, one that came to Oslo and took us seriously from the first minute.

“Previously, we have beaten Italy and England, but both those victories were because they underestimated the Norwegians.”

Indeed, Norway had signaled its growing power during qualifying play for the 1992 European Championship when it scored a 2-1 victory over Italy in Oslo. But the victory over the Dutch meant even more.

“Few people thought we could beat Holland,” said the team’s veteran defender and captain, Rune Bratseth, “but we did. And we deserved to win.”

Olsen said it was his team’s tactical discipline that had thwarted the Dutch.

“The Dutch were good, but they met a system they don’t face elsewhere,” he said, referring to his team’s formation of four defenders, five midfielders and one forward.

With convincing victories in its first two matches, Norway suddenly looked capable of anything, and the country’s newspapers were not slow in climbing aboard the Viking bandwagon.

The daily Dagbladet showed a picture of Norwegian striker Goran Sorloth scoring the winning goal against the Netherlands and told its readers: “If you are going to remember anything in 50 years’ time, you ought to hang this on the wall.”

There were even better things to come. The team was confident and the players were eager, not nervous, about their match against England at London’s Wembley Stadium.

“We believe we can win,” Bratseth said. “We have so much to gain for the game in Norway if we do.”

Norway did not win, but its 1-1 tie was enough to earn a vital point and signal that Norway had arrived on the international scene.

“There is still a long way to go yet,” goalkeeper Erik Thorstvedt said, “but it was every players’ dream to come and get a point at Wembley.

“It was not a case of England getting worse, but of Norway getting better.”

Halle, one of many Norwegian players who play their club soccer in England, agreed that Norway’s time had arrived.

“I think we have closed the gap on the rest of Europe in the past five years,” he said at the time. “After beating Italy last year, the Netherlands last month and now drawing here (at Wembley), we don’t fear any teams.”

Bratseth put it more simply: “We were lucky, but good teams should be lucky.”

Norway’s World Cup opponents--Mexico, Italy and Ireland--would be well-advised to listen to former England Coach Graham Taylor.

“It was not easy to play against a team that puts a block of players in front of you and plays zonal defense,” Taylor said, “especially when they are capable players.”

Indeed, Norway’s players were so capable they went on to defeat England in Oslo, tie the Netherlands in Rotterdam and beat Poland twice on the qualifying road to the United States.

When Norway assured itself of reaching the World Cup, the entire country went soccer mad, jumping into fountains with ice-cold water in the middle of the night and celebrating as if the World Cup had been won.

But Olsen and his players realize they are in for a difficult battle.

Italy, for one, will want revenge for that defeat in 1992, a loss that helped cost it a place in the European Championship finals. Oddly enough, Italy was Norway’s opponent in its only World Cup match so far--a 2-1 loss after extra time in France in 1938.

Mexico too will be a strong challenger, especially since the Norwegians are unaccustomed to the fluid style and refined skills of Coach Miguel Mejia Baron’s team. And Ireland will be happy to provide a physical battle that Norway will not shun.

“There will be no weak teams in America,” Halle said. “You cannot assume that an African team will be a simple matter, for instance, just as it is not safe for others to assume that a small country like Norway will be easy to beat.

“We will not be favorites, but that’s how we like it. We were not favorites in our qualifying group either.”

One thing is certain: The Norwegian fans will be here in large numbers.

“Norway is soccer mad at the moment,” Halle said during qualifying play. “I cannot imagine what it will be like by next summer.”