Norway national under-21 football team
The Norway national under-21 football team, administered and controlled by the Norwegian Football Federation, is the national football team of Norway for players of 21 years of age or under at the start of a UEFA European Under-21 Championship campaign. The team has reached the European Championship finals three times, in 1998 and 2013, winning bronze medals on both occasions, and again in 2023.
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| Association | Football Association of Norway (Norges Fotballforbund) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Head coach | Jan Peder Jalland | ||
| Most caps | Tommy Svindal Larsen (41) | ||
| Top scorer | Steffen Iversen (17) | ||
| |||
| UEFA U-21 Championship | |||
| Appearances | 3 (first in 1998) | ||
| Best result | Third place (1998, 2013) | ||
Competitive record
UEFA European Under-21 Championship Record
| UEFA European Under-21 Championship record | UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification record | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D * | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
| did not qualify | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 9 | |||||||||
| 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 12 | ||||||||||
| 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | ||||||||||
| 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 15 | ||||||||||
| 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 9 | ||||||||||
| 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 7 | ||||||||||
| 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 7 | ||||||||||
| 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 6 | ||||||||||
| 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 20 | 13 | ||||||||||
| 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 32 | 13 | ||||||||||
| Semi-Finals | 3rd of 8 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 10 | ||
| did not qualify | 12 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 22 | 15 | |||||||||
| 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 21 | 12 | ||||||||||
| 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 23 | 9 | ||||||||||
| 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 13 | ||||||||||
| 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||
| 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 6 | ||||||||||
| 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 18 | ||||||||||
| Semi-Finals | 3rd of 8 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 18 | 11 | ||
| did not qualify | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 19 | |||||||||
| 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 12 | ||||||||||
| 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 13 | ||||||||||
| 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 16 | ||||||||||
| Group stage | - | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 26 | 11 | ||
| Total | 3rd | 3/24 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 11 | 188 | 87 | 32 | 69 | 324 | 264 | |
Note: The year of the tournament represents the year in which it ends.
- *Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
Players
Current squad
The following players were called up for the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification matches against San Marino and Latvia on 7 and 12 September 2023.[1]
Caps and goals correct as of 12 September 2023, after the match against Latvia.
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Magnus Smelhus Sjøeng | 23 March 2002 | 4 | 0 | |
| 23 | GK | Jasper Silva Torkildsen | 21 December 2003 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | DF | Halvor Rødølen Opsahl | 8 October 2002 | 4 | 0 | |
| 4 | DF | Leo Fuhr Hjelde | 26 August 2003 | 10 | 0 | |
| 5 | DF | Robin Østrøm | 9 August 2002 | 4 | 1 | |
| 14 | DF | Mathias Fjørtoft Løvik | 6 December 2003 | 0 | 0 | |
| 16 | MF | Eskil Edh | 4 August 2002 | 3 | 1 | |
| 18 | DF | David Wolfe | 23 April 2002 | 6 | 0 | |
| DF | Max Williamsen | 24 July 2003 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2 | MF | Fredrik Sjøvold | 17 August 2003 | 1 | 0 | |
| 6 | MF | Christos Zafeiris | 23 February 2003 | 10 | 0 | |
| 7 | MF | Andreas Schjelderup | 1 June 2004 | 4 | 4 | |
| 8 | MF | Sivert Heggheim Mannsverk | 8 May 2002 | 7 | 1 | |
| 11 | MF | Isak Hansen-Aarøen | 22 August 2004 | 2 | 1 | |
| 15 | MF | Odin Thiago Holm | 18 January 2003 | 2 | 0 | |
| 17 | MF | Tobias Fjeld Gulliksen | 9 July 2003 | 4 | 1 | |
| 19 | MF | Kristian Arnstad | 7 September 2003 | 11 | 4 | |
| 21 | MF | Jakob Napoleon Romsaas | 16 May 2004 | 0 | 0 | |
| 9 | FW | Bryan Fiabema | 16 February 2003 | 2 | 1 | |
| 10 | FW | Oscar Bobb | 12 July 2003 | 8 | 2 | |
| 20 | FW | Joel Mvuka | 12 November 2002 | 3 | 1 | |
| 22 | FW | Daniel Karlsbakk | 7 April 2003 | 6 | 1 | |
Recent call-ups
The following players have also been called up within the last twelve months and remain eligible for selection.
| Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | Latest call-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DF | Fredrik Oppegård | 7 August 2002 | 5 | 1 | v. | |
| FW | Seedy Jatta | 18 March 2003 | 2 | 0 | v. | |
| FW | Antonio Nusa | 17 April 2005 | 0 | 0 | v. | |
Records
- As of 14 June 2022[2]
Leading appearances

| Rank | Player | Club(s) | U-21 Caps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tommy Svindal Larsen | Start, Stabæk | 41 |
| 2 | Hai Ngoc Tran | Kongsvinger | 38 |
| 3 | Harmeet Singh | Vålerenga, Feyenoord | 36 |
| 4 | Trond Fredrik Ludvigsen | Bodø/Glimt, Hertha BSC | 35 |
| Petter Rudi | Molde | 35 | |
| 6 | Kristian Flittie Onstad | Lyn | 34 |
| 7 | Azar Karadas | Brann, Rosenborg | 33 |
| Steinar Pedersen | Start, Borussia Dortmund | 33 | |
| 9 | Trond Erik Bertelsen | Haugesund, Fredrikstad | 32 |
| Thomas Holm | Heerenveen, Vålerenga | 32 | |
Note: Club(s) represents the permanent clubs during the player's time in the Under-21s. Those players in bold are still eligible to play for the team.
Leading goalscorers
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- As of 14 June 2022[2]
| Rank | Player | Club(s) | U-21 Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trond Fredrik Ludvigsen | Bodø/Glimt, Hertha BSC | 16 |
| 2 | Tore André Flo | Sogndal, Tromsø | 15 |
| 3 | Steffen Iversen | Rosenborg, Tottenham Hotspur | 14 |
| 4 | Ole Gunnar Solskjær | Clausenengen, Molde | 13 |
| 5 | Azar Karadas | Brann, Rosenborg | 12 |
| Daniel Berg Hestad | Molde | 12 | |
| Frank Strandli | Start, Leeds United | 12 | |
| 8 | Tommy Svindal Larsen | Start, Stabæk | 11 |
| Jørgen Strand Larsen | Sarpsborg 08, Groningen | 11 | |
| 10 | John Carew | Vålerenga, Rosenborg, Valencia | 10 |
| Morten Gamst Pedersen | Tromsø | 10 |
Note: Club(s) represents the permanent clubs during the player's time in the Under-21s. The players in bold are still eligible to play for the team.
Past squads
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Coaches
- 1974:
Nils Arne Eggen - 1979–1985:
Egil Olsen - 1996–1998:
Nils Johan Semb - 2000–2003:
Per-Mathias Høgmo - 2003–2006:
Hallvar Thoresen - 2006–2010:
Øystein Gåre - 2010:
Tor Ole Skullerud - 2011–2013:
Per Joar Hansen - 2013:
Tor Ole Skullerud - 2014–2023:
Leif Gunnar Smerud - 2023–present:
Jan Peder Jalland
See also
References
- "U21-tropp til EM-kvalik" (in Norwegian). Noregs Fotballforbund. 5 September 2023. Archived from the original on 6 June 2023. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
- "Norge Menn U21". www.fotball.no (in Norwegian). Football Association of Norway. Archived from the original on 10 October 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
External links
- Norway U21-team at UEFA.com
