Stale Solbakken’s time at Wolves was disappointing, but the former Molineux head coach last night experienced a major career high.
Solbakken had a brief stint at Wolves following the club’s relegation from the Premier League in 2012.
He replaced acting manager Terry Connor, and it was hoped that Solbakken would be the man to guide the club back to the top-flight.
Solbakken started well at Wolves, and had the club third at one point.
But then a poor run saw the club slide and in January, Solbakken was sacked by Steve Morgan following an embarrassing FA Cup exit at the hands of Luton Town, who were non-league at the time.
Certainly, Solbakken’s stint at Wolves was poor, but the 57-year-old is coming in for all kinds of praise today for his wonderful achievement as Norway manager last night.
Stale Solbakken guides Norway to first World Cup in 28 years
Last night, Norway were the talk of the football world again, as they officially sealed qualification for the World Cup next year.
And that was significant, as it will be the first time in 28 years that Norway have made an appearance at a World Cup finals.
In truth, Norway had pretty much assured their place after they beat Estonia in their previous game, as that left Italy needing to beat Norway last night by a nine-goal margin to pinch first place.
In the end, Norway defeated Italy comfortably 4-1, to cap off a fine qualifying campaign.
Solbakken’s side were truly eye-catching across their campaign. Winning all eight of their games, scoring 37 goals while conceding just five.
Solbakken has done a remarkable job in recent times, and the former Wolves boss will now be hoping to make his mark with a very talented squad at the finals next year.
Exciting times for Strand Larsen and Moller Wolfe
Norway look a highly impressive international outfit and credit must go to Solbakken for the work he’s done with the players.
Naturally, given how good they were in qualifying, people are starting to talk about Norway as potential dark horses for next year’s tournament.
There are some top talents in the squad, that is for sure. Martin Odegaard, Erling Haaland and Oscar Bobb are all top stars, and of course, there is Jorgen Strand Larsen, who scored against Italy, and David Moller Wolfe from Wolves too.