According to Sport1, Larsen could have made the match tenser in his FIFA World Cup debut, but the Norwegian international took a terrible penalty.

In Norway's 1-4 loss to top favorites France, Larsen stepped up to the penalty spot in the 50th minute, in the absence of several stars like Erling Haaland. If he had scored, the score would have been 2-3 at that point.

The forward ultimately produced only a hesitant shot. French goalkeeper Mike Maignan easily saved it. Larsen apparently tried to fool the AC Milan goalkeeper into going the wrong way.

FIFA World Cup Player Apologizes to Nation

"If you're going to feint, you have to really do it. And he couldn't do it at all," TV pundit Per Mertesacker said on ZDF. Fellow pundit Christoph Kramer also nodded in agreement.

The player who missed the penalty was dejected himself: "I'm disappointed. I really wanted to lie down and cry at that moment. I apologize to Norway."

He said he would learn from it: "Next time I'll just kick the ball into the corner."

Like many of his teammates, Larsen got a chance to play because Norway coach Ståle Solbakken decided to field a reserve squad. In fact, he is only Norway's third-choice striker after Haaland and Alexander Sørloth. Whether he will get another chance to score a FIFA World Cup goal in this tournament is at least questionable.

"It really hurts, especially at a FIFA World Cup," the 26-year-old added, "We could have used that to change the course of the game. Fortunately, this wasn't the most important game in that regard, but I really wish that would have been a goal."

Before the match, Norway had already secured a spot in the round of 16, although France took first place in the group.

AF's PC site is now live! Browse full news, comments, match details and stats on your computer. Visit: www.allfootballapp.com