Norway boss Lars Lagerback plays down England record ahead of Northern Ireland qualifier
Saturday 7 October 2017 15:33, UK
Lars Lagerback does not believe his unbeaten record against England will help Norway when they go up against Northern Ireland on Sunday.
The 69-year-old, who has previously been in charge of his native Sweden, was at Iceland's helm when they shocked Roy Hodgson's England at Euro 2016 to improve his personal streak against the Three Lions to seven games without defeat.
However, he sees facing Northern Ireland in their World Cup qualifier, live on Sky Sports, an entirely different proposition.
"As far as England playing at the Euros and maybe comparing them with the Northern Ireland team, I think it's a big difference in the style of playing," said Lagerback, who lost 2-0 in Belfast earlier this year in his first game as Norway boss.
"I don't think we have any advantage with that (record). Generally, why I have been lucky to have good results against British teams, and especially England, is because the players know the players very well.
"I think that is a little bit of an advantage, not least mentally. I think that's more it. But if you compare England and Northern Ireland I think they will be different matches."
This has long been a lost World Cup qualification campaign for Norway, who picked up just four points from their opening seven games in Group C, so they have little to play for at the Ullevaal Stadion.
That is not the case for Northern Ireland, even if their play-off berth is assured before they kick off in Oslo, which is possible if both Greece and Bosnia fail to win on Saturday, or if Scotland fail to do so in the earlier game on Sunday.
Even if either of those scenarios comes to fruition, victory on Norwegian soil could go a long way to determining if Northern Ireland are seeded for the play-off draw later this month.
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Lagerback, who conceded he was unaware Michael O'Neill's side could still miss out on the play-offs, has been in such nail-biting situations before.
Under him both Sweden and Iceland entered the final game of the previous two World Cup qualification campaigns with possibilities to claim a play-off spot. Sweden missed out despite winning, but Iceland, who could only draw, made the play-offs where they were beaten by Croatia.
Lagerback would lead them to Euro 2016 two years later but noted how they were affected then when qualification was within their grasp, though he believes the experienced heads in O'Neill's group will be beneficial in that sense.
"I can go back to Iceland and when we qualified (for the Euros), we had two games left so we had two chances," Lagerback added.
"We played Kazakhstan at home and we didn't have a good game, it was 0-0 and the draw was enough. It's very much a mental part when you come to these decisive games.
"I don't know them personally but if you look upon the Northern Ireland team they looked very experienced and mentally strong, so I don't think it would influence them as much. But I can hope for that!"
