Norway hit by sickness fears days before England World Cup quarter-final

Norway’s World Cup celebrations have reportedly sparked fears of fatigue and illness ahead of their clash with England.

The two sides will meet in Miami on Saturday for a place in the semi-finals.

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However, there are concerns within the Norway camp that they could be hit by a sickness bug just days before the last eight encounter.

It comes after Stale Solbakken’s side beat Brazil in the round of 16 on Sunday to set up their meeting with the Three Lions.

The Norway boss subsequently gave his players time to celebrate their win having reached the quarter-finals for the first time ever.

After the match, Solbakken told his players: “We had a plan that you guys followed perfectly.

“We had matchwinners in both ends of the pitch. I just told them, Erling (Haaland), you can all go out tonight.”

The post-match celebrations and night out have added to a considerable amount of travelling during the tournament.

Sickness fears

According to Dagbladet, fears of fatigue, illness and the effects of the jet-setting have caused distress within their camp.

Norway have already seen players miss out due to illness during the tournament.

Striker Jorgen Strand Larsen missed their group stage opener against Iraq through sickness.

Meanwhile, full-back Marcus Holmgren Pedersen was absent against Brazil with a bug.

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Solbakken was also previously seen coughing violently during his post-match press conference after their group stage clash with France.

Speaking at the time, the manager explained: “We’ve really only had Jorgen who has had a fever. But then there’s been a bit of coughing and rasping evenly, scattered throughout.

“But there’s air conditioning, flights, changing rooms and all that. We’re over 50 people so it would be strange if one or the other didn’t come.”

Travel fatigue

Norway have been through a considerable amount of air travel since arriving in North America for the tournament.

The squad have been based in Greensboro, North Carolina throughout this summer’s World Cup.

However, their group stage campaign required two trips to Boston either side of facing Senegal in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

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Since reaching the knockout stage, they have beaten Ivory Coast in Dallas and returned to New Jersey to see off Brazil.

Norway are expected to travel to Miami on Tuesday to give themselves four days to prepare for their match against England.

The quarter-final will be held at the Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday at 10pm BST, live on talkSPORT.

A win for either side will set up a semi-final meeting with one of Argentina, Egypt, Switzerland or Colombia.