By Michael Church
DALLAS, June 29 (Reuters) - Norway's Julian Ryerson will not feature in his side's last-32 clash with Ivory Coast on Tuesday after failing to recover from the injury he sustained against Senegal in the group stage, said coach Stale Solbakken.
Ryerson was taken off with a thigh problem in the 3-2 win last Tuesday and the Borussia Dortmund full back will not be ready for a meeting with Ivory Coast at Dallas Stadium that Solbakken expects to provide another demanding test.
"We have to
match their physicality," he said on Monday of the challenge posed by Ivory Coast. "They are the most powerful team in the tournament. They are a very physical team, they are very strong, that's the first thing.
"If we match that and keep our identity defensively and offensively we have a chance. I think it will be an even, tight game that can go either way.
"The match winner will have a little bit of luck on their side. It will be that close."
Norway won their opening two matches of the tournament before Solbakken made wholesale changes for their meeting with France to freshen up his squad for the knockout rounds.
The French eased to a 4-1 win in Boston to top the Group I standings and Solbakken admitted his team needed to return to the form they showed earlier in the tournament.
"I hope that we can play our best game tomorrow, that's what we've always worked to do," he said. "We probably have to step up a bit. The Senegal match was the perfect match for us to step up our game and do our best.
"We're well prepared, we've done what we have to do. The guys are happy. We played games until late last night. Everybody is in a good mood.
"Physically and mentally they're in good shape, we have no excuses. We're as well prepared as we can be at this stage, five weeks into the tournament."
Erling Haaland has been central to Norway's challenge at the World Cup and Solbakken credited the Manchester City forward's influence on and off the field as a vital component in his team's hopes of progressing further.
"He's a great leader for us, he leads by example on the pitch," said Solbakken. "He has something you can't train so much, the sniff for goals, the feeling that the ball will land at your feet at that moment.
"I think that's his biggest strength as well as his explosion, his physicality and combined with being a good teammate on and off the pitch makes him one of the best players in the world."
(Reporting by Michael Church, Editing by Ken Ferris)
