New Zealand and Norway open up their respective World Cup campaigns against each other this coming Thursday. The game is staged at Eden Park.
This is the opening match of the group stage for New Zealand and Norway with both aiming to secure a good start to the tournament standings. Everyone knows this could be pivotal for a strong tournament.
As tournament openers go, New Zealand couldn’t have been dealt a tougher hand than starting off their World Cup campaign against this opponent. At Eden Park, even a small defeat would be regarded as a minor triumph. Bookmakers firmly expect Norway to book their first win of the World Cup at the first time of asking. They’ll be eager to send a message to upcoming opponents of how strong they are.
New Zealand vs Norway Preview
New Zealand Form
In their last three matches, New Zealand lost 0-3 against Nigeria, and defeated Vietnam 2-0, before losing to Italy by 1-0. New Zealand had one win in their last 10 internationals, drawing two while losing eight of their matches.
New Zealand scored three in the last ten outings for an average of 0.4 a game in this tournament. They conceded 23 and managed a clean sheet in one of these matches.
Norway Form
Norway have been a tad mediocre in their last three matches where a win has failed to come their way. Against France, they gained a point in a 0-0 draw, before coming up short against Spain, who ran out 4-2 winners. Lately, they managed to steal a point in a 3-3 with Sweden. Norway claimed four wins in their last 10 internationals across all tournaments, while also drawing two along the way. They endured defeat in four of the games in this run.
Norway scored 47 goals, conceded two, and managed a clean sheet in eight of their previous ten matches in this tournament.
Calling out Norway to start off the World Cup with a win is a no-brainer in this encounter, and they have every opportunity to enter the tournament with a convincing win.
New Zealand vs Norway Stats
- New Zealand have lost 8 of the last 10 matches without scoring a goal
- New Zealand have conceded in 29 of the last 31 matches
- New Zealand have not won 22 of the last 24 matches
- New Zealand have lost 8 of the last 10 matches while scoring less than 0.5 goals
- New Zealand have lost 8 of the last 10 matches while scoring less than 1.5 goals
- Norway have scored in 9 of the last 11 matches
- Norway have not won 6 of the last 7 matches
- In 6 of the last 8 Norway matches the sum of goals was under 3.5
- Norway have conceded in 5 of the last 7 matches
Tournament Overview
New Zealand vs Norway H2H
Topscorer
Get ready for an exciting World Cup opener, where offensive lines sizzle and fans are kept on the edge of their seats! Keep a close eye on New Zealand and Norway, as they showcase some of the most talented players in the world. Don’t forget to check out our selection of their top goal scorers for the upcoming match – stay ahead of the game and stay informed!
WIN – DRAW – WIN
New Zealand won just one of their last 10 games, while drawing one. They lost eight in this run of matches. Norway won four of their last 10 games, whilst drawing two and losing four.
OVER – UNDER
Over 2.5 goals was a winning bet in five of New Zealand’s past ten matches across all tournaments. They scored 0.4 goals on average along the way. Over 2.5 goals came up in five of Norway’s previous ten matches across all tournaments. They managed to score an average of 1.6 goals in these matches.
BTTS & FIRST TO SCORE
Surprisingly, New Zealand only scored the first goal of the match in zero out of their last ten games. Curiously, Norway only scored the opening goal of the match in three of the last ten away games.
Norway will feel optimistic about scoring this coming Thursday with New Zealand managing a measly one clean sheet in the previous 10 games. The latter fought their way to four clean sheets in their previous 10 games.