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Norway without Riise for visit of shaken Portugal

Unbeaten in eight games against Norway, who will be without John Arne Riise, Portugal look to recover from an eventful opener in which "Cyprus scored every time we made a mistake".

Luís Figo attempts to hold off Martin Andersen during a friendly in 2003
Luís Figo attempts to hold off Martin Andersen during a friendly in 2003 ©Getty Images

Norway will be striving to record their first victory in eight attempts against Portugal when they meet in the second round of matches in UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying Group H.

• Egil Olsen's Norway opened with a 2-1 win in Iceland on Friday courtesy of goals from Mohammed Abdellaoue and captain Brede Hangeland. John Carew did not travel to Reykjavik because of a knee injury but the Aston Villa FC striker could be available again on Tuesday. AS Roma's John Arne Riise is definitely out after suffering concussion in training on Monday. "I really hope we play better against Portugal than in the first half against Iceland," said Olsen. "The boys lifted themselves on Friday, but we need an even better performance when we face the Portuguese."

Team news
Norway squad
Goalkeepers: Rune Almenning Jarstein (Viking FK), Espen Bugge Pettersen (Molde FK), Jon Knudsen (Stabæk Fotball)
Defenders: Vadim Demidov (Rosenborg BK), Brede Hangeland (Fulham FC), Tom Høgli (Tromsø IL), Jon Inge Høiland (Stabæk Fotball), Kjetil Wæhler (Aalborg BK)
Midfielders: Christian Grindheim (SC Heerenveen), Henning Hauger (Stabæk Fotball), Ruben Yttergård Jenssen (Tromsø IL), Morten Gamst Pedersen (Blackburn Rovers FC), Bjørn Helge Riise (Fulham FC), Espen Ruud (Odense BK), Jan Gunnar Solli (SK Brann)
Forwards: Mohammed Abdellaoue (Hannover 96), Daniel Braaten (Toulouse FC), John Carew (Aston Villa FC), Erik Huseklepp (SK Brann), Steffen Iversen (Rosenborg BK)

• Portugal, without Fabio Coentrão because of a thigh injury, come to Norway a little shaken following a shock 4-4 home draw against Cyprus in which they twice came from behind only to concede a late equaliser. "It's hard to say what happened," said captain Ricardo Carvalho. "We didn't start well and Cyprus scored every time we made a mistake." Portugal assistant coach Agostinho Oliveira added: "We have to turn this situation around in the next game; change the bad things and give more balance to our defence."

Portugal squad
Goalkeepers: Eduardo (Genoa CFC), Beto (FC Porto)
Defenders: Rolando (FC Porto), Miguel (Valencia CF), Ricardo Carvalho (Real Madrid CF), Bruno Alves (FC Zenit St. Petersburg), Nuno Coelho (Sporting Clube de Portugal), Sílvio (SC Braga), Fábio Coentrão (SL Benfica)
Midfielders: Raúl Meireles (Liverpool FC), João Moutinho (FC Porto), Manuel Fernandes (Valencia CF), Miguel Veloso (Genoa CFC), Tiago (Club Atlético de Madrid)
Forwards: Yannick Djaló (Sporting Clube de Portugal), Ricardo Quaresma (Beşiktaş JK), Danny (FC Zenit St. Petersburg), Nani (Manchester United FC), Hugo Almeida (SV Werder Bremen), Liédson (Sporting Clube de Portugal)

Match background
• Norway's record in eight previous games against Portugal reads W0 D2 L6 (W0 D1 L3 at home).

• The first, and biggest, of those Portugal wins was a 4-0 friendly success on 12 June 1966.

• Portugal won both matches 2-1 when the nations met in the preliminary round of the 1968 UEFA European Championship, Eusébio scoring twice in the first meeting in Oslo on 8 June 1967.

• Portugal again did the double in qualifying for the 1980 UEFA European Championship, triumphing 1-0 in Oslo and 3-1 in Lisbon.

• Norway's two draws came in friendlies in 1993 (1-1) and 1994 (0-0), while the teams' most recent encounter was also a non-competitive game, Portugal prevailing 1-0 in Oslo on 10 September 2003.