Kazakhstan vs Norway

Norway’s road to redemption after another fiasco in European Championship qualifying starts at the Almaty Central Stadium against Kazakhstan as the two sides embark on their UEFA Nations League journey.

Yet to reach a major international tournament as an independent nation, Kazakhstan failed to qualify for Euro 2024 after losing to Greece in the playoffs, resulting in a managerial change over the summer. Former Russia head coach Stanislav Cherchesov took charge of the national team in June but slumped to two consecutive friendly defeats to Armenia and Azerbaijan at the beginning of his tenure. Both matches featured over 2.5 goals and both teams on the scoresheet, underscoring the potential for a high-scoring contest. However, those defeats have extended Kazakhstan’s losing streak to four matches, casting doubt on their hopes of toppling Norway in the first-ever meeting between the teams. The Hawks are gearing up for their maiden League B appearance after earning promotion from League C last term as Group 3 winners (W4, D1, L1).

On the other hand, Norway couldn’t make it to only their second-ever appearance at the European Championship, slipping to a third-place finish in qualification Group A. Despite missing out on another major international tournament, manager Stale Solbakken is still in charge of the Scandinavian powerhouse, with his side bidding to bounce back from a 3-1 friendly loss to Denmark last time out. That result worsened Norway’s poor record across four exhibition matches in 2024 (W1, D1, L2), putting them at risk of losing two consecutive games for only the second time during Solbakken’s three-and-a-half-year reign. On a more positive note, the Norwegians have only lost two outings against the nations ranked below them by FIFA since Solbakken’s appointment in December 2020.