Socceroos thrashed by Norway, Bert van Marwijk's debut ends in defeat

Bert van Marwijk's era as Socceroos coach has started in dismal fashion with his side going down 4-1 to Norway in Oslo.

Mile Jedinak of Australia leads the team out prior to the International Friendly match between Norway and Australia at Ullevaal Stadion on March 23, 2018.

Mile Jedinak of Australia leads the team out prior to the International Friendly match between Norway and Australia at Ullevaal Stadion on March 23, 2018. Source: Getty

Bert van Marwijk has been dealt a rude awakening in his first match as Australia's coach with the Socceroos slumping to a dismal 4-1 loss to Norway in Oslo.

The hosts, who sit 20 places below the 37th-ranked Socceroos, dominated from the start and were full value for their win in front of a sparse crowd at a bitterly cold Ullevaal Stadium.

A hat-trick from Ola Kamara and a header from Tore Reginiussen secured the emphatic victory after Jackson Irvine had given the Socceroos the lead with a 19th-minute header

Van Marwijk handed debuts to Dimi Petratos and Andrew Nabbout in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Bailey Wright named in an uncustomary right-back role.

Norway made all the early running and should have opened the scoring through Bjorn Johnsen who was put clear by skipper Stefan Johansen but he shot straight at Mat Ryan.

Australia offered little in attack but in a rare foray, Nabbout won a corner which was subsequently swung in by Aaron Mooy and Irvine rose unmarked to nod home his second international goal.

Despite the early setback the home side continued to press forward in impressive fashion.

The pace of highly-rated Mohamed Elyounoussi on the left flank was a constant threat to the Socceroos' defence and he was the architect of Kamara's equaliser.

The Basel winger, who scored against Manchester City in a recent Champions League game, skipped past Mark Milligan and his low cross was met first time by Kamara for an easy finish.

Van Marwijk opted against any changes at halftime and before he could shuffle his pack, the hosts scored twice in nine minutes to effectively seal the contest.

Centre back Reginuissen was given the freedom of Oslo to head past Ryan after Irvine misjudged Johansen's inswinging free-kick seven minutes after the break.

Kamara then finished emphatically after latching onto a terrible pass from Ryan intended for Mile Jedinak and fired past the Brighton keeper.

Van Marwijk then made a flurry of changes but it made little difference as Lars Lagerback's side continued to dominate.

Bjorn Johnsen should have extended Norway's lead with a free header that he put over the bar after losing Milligan in the box.

But it was Kamara who had the final word two minutes from time with a curling, low finish to complete his hat-trick and cap off a miserable day for van Marwijk's side who face 13th-ranked Colombia in London on Tuesday.

 

 


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