“Odegaard’s goal secures a draw for Norway against Morocco.”

Martin Ødegaard secured a dramatic equalizer just one minute before the end for Norway against Morocco, in a match that served as the final test ahead of the World Cup, ending in a 1-1 draw in New Jersey. The late goal from the Arsenal midfielder denied the Atlas Lions the chance to achieve a fourth consecutive victory, leaving the contest open and promising great excitement in the competition.

Both coaches fielded their strongest line-ups, with captains Achraf Hakimi and Martin Ødegaard returning to the starting eleven, just eight days after facing each other in the Champions League final, representing Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal, respectively. Erling Haaland, Norway’s all-time leading scorer, also started, celebrating his 50th international cap, although he was less prominent in the first half, which was dominated by Morocco.

In the early minutes, Azzedine Ounahi saw a blocked attempt, but it was Brahim Diaz who opened the scoring in the eighth minute. The forward received a pass from Abde Ezzalzouli at the edge of the area and shot low, surpassing Orjan Nyland for 1-0, marking his 14th goal in his international career. This goal woke up Norway, which began to create more danger: Kristoffer Ajer nearly equalized with a header that went wide, and Alexander Sorloth had a goal disallowed for a foul on Noussair Mazraoui.

The Moroccan full-back Mazraoui was injured just before the 30-minute mark, making way for Youssef Belammari, which raised a red flag for the team coached by Mohamed Ouahbi, especially with the opening match of Group C against Brazil approaching. Despite the injury, Morocco remained dangerous, with Ezzalzouli notably shooting over the bar from inside the area and Bounou making a spectacular save from a shot by Antonio Nusa.

In the second half, Morocco started less intensely, but nearly doubled their lead when Nyland saved a powerful shot from Diaz, only for Neil El Aynoui to shoot over the bar with a header. In the 60th minute, Ouahbi made seven substitutions, but it was a Norwegian substitute who changed the course of the game: Oscar Bobb set up Ødegaard for the equalizer, the fifth goal for the international midfielder, in the 75th minute.

Shortly after, another Norwegian substitute, Kristian Thorstvedt, almost made it 2-1 with a header that went wide from a free kick taken by Julian Ryerson. However, the score remained unchanged, and Norway was unable to secure a win, marking only the fourth time in 16 encounters that the team has failed to clinch victory (3 draws, 1 loss).

Now, Norway is preparing to face Iraq on June 16, in their first World Cup match since 1998, while Morocco, semifinalist in 2022, remains unbeaten under Ouahbi (3 wins, 2 draws) ahead of the big challenge against Brazil. This draw further heightens expectations for the performances of these two teams, which promise to surprise in the world’s premier football competition.

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