Norway have huge complaint with FIFA decision ahead of World Cup game vs England
Another spanner in the works has threatened to plunge Norway's preparation for their World Cup quarter-final clash against England into crisis.
Days after it emerged that several players from the Scandinavian side have been 'coughing and rasping', the team had to leave their hotel just one night after checking in.
Stale Solbakken's men were less than impressed with the accommodation that FIFA arranged for their stay in Miami - as it was reportedly plonked next to a busy road and a construction site, while the rooms allegedly weren't up to scratch.
Norway will take on England at the Miami Stadium in Florida on Saturday (11 July), and it is shaping up to be quite the exciting fixture.
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Both teams have hit a few bumps in the road ahead of the quarter-final match though, as England defender Jarell Quansah has been slapped with a two-game suspension.
It means the right-back will miss out on the upcoming game and will only be allowed back on the pitch at the World Cup final - if we make it that far - thanks to the red card he earned while playing against Mexico.
There are also fears that Thomas Tuchel’s team might have a Declan Rice-sized hole in it on Saturday, as he's missed a second successive day of training. It is believed he's been struck down with a sickness bug.
Brits can at least take solace in the fact that the lads are apparently getting a better night's sleep than their opponents, though.
Norway has got something of an axe to grind with FIFA following its decision to house the team in The Dalmar Hotel in Fort Lauderdale.
Head coach Solbakken said that there were 'too many little things' to overlook, according to Norwegian news outlet VG, and suggested they weren't able to work cohesively.
'We felt it was necessary to take action'
"You would like to have a gathering and meeting room," he said. "In total, there were too many little things. It's not that you can't live there, but we should be a team, be together and a unit."
Truls Daehli, Norway's logistics manager, added: "There were things where we lived that we would have liked to see were different. We felt it was necessary to take action."
And take action they did - as just 24 hours after checking into The Dalmar, the players packed their bags and hightailed it out of there.
Reports claim that footie aces feared the six-lane highway and large construction site situated next to the hotel would disturb them, on top of all the other issues they encountered.
According to Norwegian broadcaster NRK, many of the rooms that were assigned to them were smoky, mouldy or poorly cleaned.
Norway made an eleventh hour move to the Four Seasons Fort Lauderdale, which is about three miles away from their original accommodation.
TV2’s World Cup pundit Jesper Mathisen said it was wrong of FIFA to put Norway's team in The Dalmar and told Nettavisen: "As Stale Solbakken says, it is certainly possible to survive in that hotel, but now they are going to play the most important match in Norwegian football history and then it is completely understandable that they want to stay in the best possible hotel, and that they want to get margins where they can.
"Then, there is a risk of both little sleep and certainly also a risk of infection.
"They obviously fixed a new hotel quite quickly, and it’s good that there were both available rooms and opportunities to find a better, cleaner and perfectly decent hotel without so much noise.
"It was good that they were able to do it so early. After all, there are quite a few days until the game."
"If this had been one day before the game, it could have caused a bit of chaos, but now they don’t seem tired or in a bad mood out on the field, so things seem to be on track."
However, Daehli did say that FIFA have been 'understanding' about Norway's decision, as he told TV2: "We are in week six and will be staying here for a whole week. The match we are going to play now is the biggest match we have ever played. Now we have managed to avoid bed sores, and we did not want to risk getting any of that during this period. That is why we made a change.
"We have been met with good understanding from FIFA, who have moved their package to the new hotel. [FIFA] pay for 50 rooms, that they pay for our security and transportation.
"We have to make a small adjustment, because this hotel costs more. But we are incredibly satisfied with the way things have been responded to here."
Norway's captain Martin Odegaard, 27, concurred and added: "There were some things that could have been better, then we fixed it really just to optimise and prepare ourselves as best as possible for a big match."
LADbible has contacted The Dalmar for a comment.
World Cup 2026 fixture schedule and UK kick off times
Friday, 10 July
Quarter-final - Match 98: Spain vs Belgium, kick-off 8pm - Los Angeles, US
Saturday, 11 July
Quarter-final - Match 99: Norway vs England, kick-off 10pm - Miami, US
Sunday, 12 July
Quarter-final - Match 100: Argentina vs Switzerland, kick-off 2am - Kansas City, US
Tuesday, 14 July
Semi-final - Match 101: Match 97 winners vs Match 98 winners, kick-off 8pm - Arlington, US
Wednesday, 15 July
Semi-final - Match 102: Match 99 winners vs Match 100 winners, kick-off 8pm - Atlanta, US
Saturday, 18 July
Third Place Playoff - Match 103: Match 101 losers vs Match 102 losers, kick-off 10pm - Miami, US
Sunday, 19 July
Final - Match 104: Match 101 winners vs Match 102 winners, kick-off 8pm - New Jersey, US
Olivia Burke