FRANCE 98 – General Media News Template
While his Norwegian World Cup teammates cheerfully admit to being in the dark about their opening Group A opponents from Morocco, defender Dan Eggen has inside knowledge on three key Moroccan players.
Eggen plays in the Spanish first division for Celta Vigo and has played against Moroccan trio Noureddine Naybet, Mustapha Hadji and Salaheddine Bassir, all of whom are with Deportivo La Coruna and add a touch of Spanish flair to the Moroccan game.
Impressed by the threesome, Eggen has warned his teammates against taking anything for granted when they play the Moroccans in Montpellier on Wednesday night.
“All three are very good players and if Morocco are well-organised they can be very dangerous to us,” he said.
“Naybet is the key man in defence. He is a very good organiser, solid, a good header of the ball and very clever. Hadji is a very creative and technically gifted midfield player and he pulls the strings offensively. Bassir has been a substitute most of the time for his club, but he’s very quick, a player who is good on the ball and has a good shot.”
Eggen, a 28-year-old who has played 13 internationals for Norway, has learned to switch mentally between the ball-playing style of the Spanish League and the more direct play of the Norwegian national side. “It is so different that it can be difficult to make the adjustment,” he said. “In Spain there are a lot of short passes, while Norway use the long ball a lot more, so I have had to learn to be adaptable.” Eggen believes Norway’s chances of advancing past the first round for the first time rest with the match against Morocco.
“The most important thing for us is that first game,” he said. “If we do well and then win against Scotland, maybe things will be settled by the time we have to play Brazil.”
Eggen is looking forward to the finals, but aware of the pressure-cooker atmosphere that awaits he and his teammates. “This is the World Cup, so there will be a lot of tension,” he said. “If you make a mistake everyone will see it and be aware of it. It is a lot more difficult than normal. But I’m a professional footballer and I’m used to pressure. That’s how it is.”
With the Norwegians unbeaten in 14 matches stretching back to January last year, expectations are high in the camp.
“If we were to lose the first game and not make it past the first round that would be desperately disappointing,” Eggen said. “We haven’t lost in qualifying or any of our warm-up games and clearly if we continue to play like we have been we will do quite well here. We clearly have possibilities.”