By Karolos Grohmann
BOSTON, Massachusetts, June 25 (Reuters) - Norway coach Stale Solbakken will be resting players for their final World Cup Group I match against France on Friday with the tournament piling physical and mental pressure on them, with the knockout stage looming, he said on Thursday.
Both teams have secured their spot in the round of 32 after winning their first two games and the French need only a draw to finish top thanks to their superior goal difference.
France, whose coach Didier
Deschamps is back home to attend his mother's funeral and will not be on the bench, are eager to finish top to avoid long travel times.
Norway top scorer Erling Haaland said days ago he did "not care too much about the France game", having already secured their spot in the next round in their first World Cup appearance in 28 years, and Solbakken refused to comment on his forward's statement.
"It is an important game (against France) but the most important is the round of 32," Solbakken told a press conference.
"Knowing the prerequisites... we don't know how many games we will get. It is 100% certain that we will need to be rested for the round of 32 mentally and physically. It could be that we have to play 30 minutes of extra time or penalties."
"There is an argument that these players are used to playing every three days but here (there) is so much pressure. It is like a pressure cooker," he added.
Several of his players suffered from cramps in their 3-2 victory over Senegal with Solbakken blaming it on high humidity in New York, and not enough hydration for some of them.
He said Norway would have to be smart from now on and plan their tournament around several variables that could change. Neither France nor Norway know their opponents in the knockout stage yet, nor where they will play.
"We are very happy having six points. We can learn a lot from France because they have been in this situation. They are going to game three and will rest some players. We should not become too greedy. We have to be more smart than greedy."
Solbakken said while Friday's game will pit France forward Kylian Mbappe against Haaland, with both players on four goals from two games, his striker was the ultimate team player and was not after the top scorer's crown.
"He is not focused on being the top scorer. He is focused on the team and he is a team player who is happy when a teammate scores," Solbakken said. "He has the killer instinct and wants to score but his greater strength is that he puts the team first."
(Reporting by Karolos GrohmannEditing by Christian Radnedge)
