Stephen Kenny insists he won’t deviate from his game plan tomorrow just because Erling Haaland is ruled out.
On current form, the Manchester City goal machine is arguably the best player on the planet.
But Norway confirmed on Sunday night that he would not be making the trip to Dublin for tomorrow’s friendly clash with Ireland.
Kenny was hoping to face the striker as he wants to give his players the best possible test ahead of the Euro 2024 qualifier against France in March.
But now that Haaland is ruled out, Kenny has no intention of ripping up the plans.
He said today: “I don’t think (the game plan) changes that much. Norway have a lot of players playing at a good level, they are all good players.
“The highest profile is their captain, Martin Odegaard, who is an exceptional p[layer for sure.
“They have players in La Liga and other top leagues, so they have shown themselves to be a good team.”
Kenny, who has no fresh injury concerns, continued: “It’s an important game in preparation for France.
“Obviously France and Norway are different. It’s difficult to gauge, France have been changing their system so much, between a back three and a back four.
“So you can’t say it’s the same tactical challenge. But it’s a really good game, Norway are one of the better teams not going to the World Cup.”
Ireland also travel to face Malta on Sunday and Kenny said: “These two games are good preparation for us.
“It’s a chance to get the squad together to get more game time, more training time, and it’s a long gap between November and March.
“We want to make sure we hit the ground running when we come in. We want to pick a strong team tomorrow. We want a strong performance.”
Meanwhile, Kenny insists it would be a ‘good news story’ to co-host Euro 2028 in Ireland, following the formal bid submission today.
“I think it would be very positive for football in Ireland to have the European Championships in Dublin, full stadiums and what that brings,” he said.
“The interest in the country, I think it would be a good news story.”
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