Arsenal captain Martin Ødegaard has found himself at the centre of a row in Norway after his reaction to a rough challenge against Portugal.
The midfielder was furious with Bernardo Silva following a late tackle during Sunday’s match. He got straight back up, went after the former Manchester City man and made his feelings pretty clear.
That incident has now produced some rather surprising criticism of the Arsenal player. And one former Norway international really doesn’t like what he’s heard.
Steve Nicol mocks Ødegaard after Bernardo Silva tackle
Norway’s Dagbladet picks up comments made by former Liverpool captain Steve Nicol during an ESPN broadcast.
Nicol felt Portugal had been given a difficult time by Norway and suggested someone needed to leave something on Ødegaard.
“Norway made a mockery of Portugal for large parts of this game, especially in the final third. And to be quite honest, it took too long before somebody did something like that to him,” Nicol said.
Asked whether it mattered that Silva’s challenge came right at the end of the game, he doubled down.
“No, absolutely not. It’s a little reminder: ‘Hey, next time we meet, you might get more of the same.'”
Nicol then mocked Ødegaard’s response to the tackle.
“‘Please don’t kick me! It’s not fair!’ I don’t know what he’s thinking about. It sounds like a guy who wants loads of space and time on the ball.”
Dagbladet pundit Bernt Hulsker was in Cardiff with the national team and had a very different view.
“What a dinosaur. What a statement,” he said about Nicol. “Maybe that’s how we did things a bit in my time, but he’s even older. There’s no point spending energy or time on it. That’s how it was. That’s not how it is anymore, Steve Nicol. We’re done with that stuff.”
Hulsker also had no problem with Ødegaard confronting Silva immediately afterwards.
“You’d expect nothing less from Ødegaard than to give him a word or two.”
Silva himself wasn’t particularly interested in discussing the incident afterwards. Asked about the tackle, he simply replied: “It’s football, my friend.”
| Martin Ødegaard — Arsenal, all competitions | 2024/25 | 2025/26 | 2026/27 so far |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appearances | 45 | 36 | 8 |
| Starts | 38 | 23 | 7 |
| Minutes played | 3,444 | 1,982 | 570 |
| Goals | 6 | 1 | 4 |
| Assists | 11 | 7 | 0 |
| Minutes per goal | 574 | 1,982 | 143 |
Arsenal will be more interested in Ødegaard’s fitness
One important detail here is Ødegaard hasn’t trained normally with his Norway teammates since the Portugal game. So there is a worry indeed.
He initially missed Tuesday’s session at Ullevaal. However, photographs later showed him out on the pitch after the opening 15 minutes.
There wasn’t much to learn from his arrival in Cardiff on Wednesday either. Hulsker, though, expects the Arsenal captain to be available against Wales on Thursday.
“I think he’ll play,” he said.
In the end, the argument over what happened against Portugal can carry on elsewhere, as long as Ødegaard comes through international duty without a problem.
