Wales winger Dan James has stated that his national team proved the point with their victory over Norway last month in Cardiff. James scored in that match, as Wales came from behind to defeat the opponents who had reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
The win ended a run of six matches without victory for Wales. Craig Bellamy’s side thus broke a period of poor results and returned to winning ways ahead of the new encounter with Norway.
Norway were defeated in Cardiff, a loss that came at the worst point in the team’s form in a decade. Norway also lost matches against Portugal immediately before and after the fixture in Cardiff, including a defeat in Oslo. In that game, Cristiano Ronaldo was left on the bench for Portugal, after which he left the squad and eventually retired from international football.
The defeat in Oslo was Norway’s first loss in 12 home competitive matches. Norway had not lost four games in a row since 2016, and from that generation, only goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland and striker Alexander Sørloth, who plays for Atletico Madrid, remain in the squad.
James is 29 years old and is set to make his 69th appearance for Wales. He was part of the Wales squad at Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup. The Norway vs Wales match is played on Saturday, 14 November, at 17:00 GMT at Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo. It is a Nations League Group A4 fixture.
Wales lost their opening League A matches in Portugal and Denmark, and Bellamy admitted that the defeat to Denmark had 'hurt'. A win in Oslo would allow Wales to secure at least third place in the group. Wales would need to either earn a point in Cardiff against Portugal in the final match or hope for favourable results, but they would likely still have to go through a play-off to retain their status in League A. Third place would guarantee Wales a home tie in the first qualifying group for Euro, a tournament on which Wales will be co-hosts.
