{"id":3688,"date":"2026-06-27T08:03:33","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T08:03:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3688"},"modified":"2026-06-27T08:03:33","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T08:03:33","slug":"no-foxborough-duel-as-norway-was-content-to-let-superstar-france-show-just-some-of-what-its-capable-of","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3688","title":{"rendered":"No Foxborough duel as Norway was content to let superstar France show just some of what it\u2019s capable of"},"content":{"rendered":"
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FOXBOROUGH \u2014 Coach Stale Solbakken believed Norway had much to learn about managing the World Cup; who better to take lessons from than France? Les Bleus were in a teaching mood as they took a 4-1 victory over the Landslaget in what turned out to be a glorified workout on Friday afternoon.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more US strikes Iran in response to a drone attack on a ship<\/a><\/p>\n

First lesson \u2014 put out your usual starters, which France did, missing only injured center back William Saliba. And, actually, that\u2019s all there was to it. Assistant coach Guy St\u00e9phan simply made out the lineup card, which included some of the best forwards and wingers in the game, and let them do their thing. The next thing St\u00e9phan and a crowd of 64,146 knew, a seventh-minute Ousmane Demb\u00e9l\u00e9 score set the tone, allowing Les Bleus to pace themselves and start thinking about their Round of 32 match.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Going all-out early worked. They chalked up a third successive win without having to extend themselves. Demb\u00e9l\u00e9 recorded a hat trick and D\u00e9sir\u00e9 Dou\u00e9 scored his first World Cup goal. And, the result allowed Les Bleus to stay near their Boston home \u2014 they will shuttle to New Jersey for a second-round match on Tuesday. Plus, St\u00e9phan noted, there was an added bonus \u2014 more family time.<\/span><\/p>\n

When France chose its base in January, it factored in flights to Logan Airport. It would be an hour closer than New York to Paris and, probably, less complications and hassle. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been doing this for our third match,\u201d St\u00e9phan said of flying in family. \u201cIt\u2019s important. They spend time with wives, children, sometimes parents, grandchildren where I\u2019m concerned. It\u2019s a nice moment. They will be at our training session tomorrow [at Bentley University]. It\u2019s a new lease on life and gives us oxygen.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

No arguing St\u00e9phan and France head coach Didier Deschamps, who missed the game to attend his mother\u2019s funeral, have made the right plans so far.<\/span><\/p>\n

Related: <\/span><\/span>Photos: Norway takes on France in high-powered World Cup matchup in Foxborough<\/div>\n

Solbakken, though, chose to rest nearly his entire starting lineup, including stars Erling Haaland and Martin \u00d8degaard. It was a recipe for disaster, but the choice could pay off in the long run.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sure, Norway must travel to Dallas for a 1 p.m. Tuesday match against Ivory Coast. But, maybe, the extra rest will help Haaland, \u00d8degaard, and the four Norwegian players who cramped up during a 3-2 win over Senegal.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c[Fans] want to see Erling and Martin and, hopefully, we can give them some good summer nights in the next weeks,\u201d Solbakken said. \u201cWe have given them a couple victories, and we will give them the opportunity to watch more games. We don\u2019t need to be the na\u00efve country, playing for fun. We want to play as long as possible. I need to make the decisions, and it was a no-brainer. I have no doubts.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more He didn\u2019t score a goal against Norway, but the mere presence of Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 opened the floodgates for France<\/a><\/p>\n

That meant depriving the game of becoming a duel between Haaland and Kylian Mbapp\u00e9, and also a wingers\u2019 showcase. Norway\u2019s Antonio Nusa came on in the 83rd minute, too late to show his stuff against French wingers Demb\u00e9l\u00e9, Dou\u00e9, and substitutes Bradley Barcola and Rayan Cherki. <\/span><\/p>\n

Whether Solbakken\u2019s rest-them-up choice was right or wrong, few teams could overhaul the starting lineup and get away with it. France is probably the only one that could do so. No European country is producing talent on the scale of France, which has more than 100 players in the World Cup.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe probably could have scored a few more goals,\u201d St\u00e9phan said, \u201cbut we already scored four.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Actually, if the French didn\u2019t know they had this game in the bag before kickoff, they received confirmation 20 seconds in, when Mbapp\u00e9\u2019s shot was deflected by Egil Selvik off the under side of the bar. Les Bleus attacked like a super-charged offensive team, and would have made it difficult for Norway\u2019s first-teamers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Related: <\/span><\/span>\u2018A smoldering volcano\u2019: French soccer fans bring a quiet intensity to Boston\u2019s World Cup scene<\/div>\n

But they did prove to be human, letting down, becoming lazy, and slipping up defensively according to St\u00e9phan.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you want to be on the perfectionist side, sometimes things get easy, and we don\u2019t run as much, and we end up giving opportunities to opponents,\u201d St\u00e9phan said, \u201cWe need to work on that, because, as we progress, opponents are going to be \u2014 I\u2019m not saying Norway is not a quality opponent, but they didn\u2019t have their \u2018A\u2019 team. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI am not worried. We have a great team. It sparkles and it can shine, with a lot of dribbling, one-twos, and, of course, what happens then, sometimes it becomes unbalanced. And you need to compensate for it. We need to find a balance. [But] there was a lot of action and I thought the players really enjoyed playing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

St\u00e9phan said Deschamps will return for practice Saturday.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs far as I am concerned, I am satisfied I completed my duty,\u201d St\u00e9phan said. \u201c[Saturday] we re-start our duo and prepare for matches that will be more challenging.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Willson Contreras adds some spice to rivalry while his thoughts turn to earthquake victims in Venezuela<\/a><\/p>\n

Related: <\/span><\/span>More World Cup coverage<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Norway chose to rest nearly its entire starting lineup on Friday. It was a recipe for disaster, but the choice could pay off in the long run.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3687,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"\nNo Foxborough duel as Norway was content to let superstar France show just some of what it\u2019s capable of - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3688\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"No Foxborough duel as Norway was content to let superstar France show just some of what it\u2019s capable of - Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Norway chose to rest nearly its entire starting lineup on Friday. 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