Gavin Bazunu: He could do nothing to stop Leo Ostigard’s bullet header, won a personal battle with Ola Solbakken, but ultimately came out on the losing side. 6
Nathan Collins: Alarm bells were ringing when he was caught flat-footed for the run of Elyounoussi midway through the first-half. Produced an important block on the same player later in the half, but was poor for Norway’s second goal. 5
John Egan: It was Egan’s job to track the run of Ostigard for Norway’s opener and he was caught short. Should have equalised from a Robinson cross five minutes after the break. 6
Dara O’Shea: It was a quiet night for the man on the left-hand-side of Ireland’s three-man defence. 6
Matt Doherty: One of Ireland’s sharper players on a night when most looked a yard or so off the pace. Did his best to kick start attacks down the right. 7
Josh Cullen: Anchored midfield with a solid, if unspectacular display. Always looking for the ball from his defence, he found little in the way of options whenever he looked up-field. 6
Alan Browne: Looked to be Ireland’s most dangerous attacking player in an improved second-half performance all-round. Scored an excellent goal after going close on a couple of occasions. 7
Jayson Molumby: Produced an important challenge to stop Solbakken’s advance inside the area on the half-hour and showed glimpses of decent play going forward. 6
Callum O’Dowda: Looked lively on the left early on and sent over some promising crosses, before fading. Should have scored with a back-post header in the second-half. 7
Callum Robinson: His early shot, albeit well off target, was a false promise of what was to come in the first-half. Looked sharper after the introduction of Ogbene after struggling to link up with Obafemi. 6
Michael Obafemi: Struggled with his link-up play and found it difficult to make space in a crowded Norway defence, but showed flashes of ability, including some nice footwork early in the second-half to almost tee up Browne. 5
SUBS: Robbie Brady (for O’Dowda 75): Had little impact. 5
Chiedozie Ogbene (for Obafemi 75): Looked sharp, but struggled for service. 5
Jeff Hendrick (for Molumby 82): Not on long enough to rate.
Evan Ferguson (for Browne 88): Not on long enough to rate.
SUBS NOT USED: Caoimhin Kelleher, Mark Travers, Seamus Coleman, James McClean, Will Smallbone, Jamie McGrath, Mark Sykes, Liam Scales, Darragh Lenihan.
NORWAY: Orjan Nyland 6; Marcus Pedersen 6 (Julian Ryerson 65, 6), Stefan Strandberg 6, Leo Ostigard 6, Fredrik Bjorkan 5 (Birger Meling 65, 5); Ola Solbakken 7 (Kristoffer Zachariassen 63, 6), Martin Odegaard 7, Patrick Berg 7 (Stian Gregersen 90), Morten Thorsby 6 (Ola Brynhildsen 74, 6), Mohamed Elyounoussi 5; Jorgen Larsen 5 (Ohi Omoijuanfo 74, 5).
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