Russia fightback comes too late

Norway 3-2 Russia

Three-goal lead
Martin Andresen and Sigurd Rushfeldt scored before half-time, and substitute Jan Gunnar Solli added a third after the break for Åge Hareide's impressive side. Vladislav Radimov and Dmitri Kirichenko scored in the belated fightback, but it was not enough for the visitors.

Strong side
Russia coach Georgi Yartsev entered the game looking to field as strong a side as possible, with only the veteran midfield pair of Dmitri Alenichev and Aleksandr Mostovoi missing. The skilful attacking quartet of Dmitri Sytchev, Dmitri Loskov, Dmitri Bulykin and Marat Izmailov carry no little threat, but it was the hosts who dominated the first half.

Solskjær returns
Ole Gunnar Solskjær was back for Norway after recovering from a serious knee injury and the Manchester United FC forward was impressive as his side powered into a two-goal lead before the break in an open, high-tempo match.

Captain's contribution
Andresen had already gone close with a fine free-kick before he gave his side a 25th-minute lead. John Arne Riise picked the ball up from Solskjær on the left and saw his captain in space on the edge of the box. Morten Gamst Pedersen dummied Riise's pass, buying Andresen even more time to drill a ferocious shot past debutant goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev.

Evseev miss
Sytchev twice went close for the visitors with low shots, and Bulykin missed a good headed chance before full-back Vadim Evseev shot wide on the turn after a Gusev corner. Yet Norway went straight up to the other end with a fast-paced counterattack and, with only two minutes to go before the break, scored a second. With the Russian defence in disarray, Thorstein Helstad crossed and picked out the unmarked Rushfeldt, who nodded in off the far post.

Solli strike
After the break, Pedersen missed a fantastic chance to score when unmarked at the far post, but Norway eventually did find a third after 62 minutes. Substitute Solli cut in on his left foot - after Riise then Pedersen had squared the ball across the edge of the Russian box - before curling a shot just inside the far post.

Late fightback
With both sides making a large number of substitutions, the game became disjointed in the closing stages. However, Russia did manage a late fightback when, with five minutes to go, Norway failed to clear their lines from a corner and substitute Radimov drove in with the aid of a deflection. Dmitri Kirichenko then scored another consolation with a low strike in added time.