'Nonsense': Norway players swat away criticism of captain Martin Odegaard

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/odegaard-martin/ID32TGhp/"]Odegaard[/a] struggled in ‌the 4-1 win against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/iraq/K8aAGt6r/"]Iraq[/a] on ‌Tuesday, appearing off the pace and failing to ‌produce his usual creative fluency. He did, ‌however, provide the assist for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ostigard-leo/lIN7BM8b/"]Leo Ostigard[/a] to head in [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/norway/8rP6JO0H/"]Norway[/a]'s third goal before being ‌substituted nine minutes from time.[/p][p]Norwegian commentators ⁠rated the midfielder ‌poorly, with television pundits pointing to recent injury ​struggles, but his teammates strongly defended the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/arsenal/hA1Zm19f/"]Arsenal[/a] player ahead of their ​match against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/senegal/hOIsJLJr/"]Senegal[/a].[/p][p]"[b]It is nonsense[/b]," defender [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/wolfe-moller-david/MLvBwPN0/"]David Moller Wolfe[/a] told Norwegian TV2. "[b]He is one ⁠of our most ​important players and one of the best Norwegian footballers of all time. We know how important he has been over a very ‌long period[/b]."[/p][image alt="Odegaard pass map vs Iraq" id="d9e82b3a-ba01-442d-a7e8-226ce9651eb1" credit-line="Fred Kfoury Iii / Zuma Press / Profimedia / Opta by StatsPerform" guid="0387a93e-3bd3-464a-9a35-c23c69b40504" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]Winger [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hauge-jens/ObARUGXQ/"]Jens Petter Hauge[/a] said the squad remained unfazed by the media scrutiny, and midfielder [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/thorstvedt-kristian/EF3UYlr3/"]Kristian Thorstvedt[/a] dismissed the criticism as "[b]rubbish[/b]", emphasising Odegaard's vital leadership role on and off the pitch.[/p][p]Norway's player liaison officer, Brede [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hangeland-brede/n9MOKPyg/"]Hangeland[/a], acknowledged that the team had room for individual improvement.[/p][p]"[b]I think many players felt ‌after the Iraq game that they had ​more to give individually, and I think ‌Martin would be completely honest about that too[/b]," Hangeland said. "[b]We expect that we will look stronger both individually and collectively in the next match[/b]."[/p][p]Norway play Senegal ⁠on Tuesday and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/france/QkGeVG1n/"]⁠France[/a] on June ‌26th.[/p][infobox id="4ccc1b10-d68f-4c97-bcf4-5e613c17c2e3" /]