Ahead of Norway's home UEFA Nations League match against Portugal, coach Solbakken attended the pre-match press conference. He explained Haaland's absence from the media and confirmed Haaland will start. This is the first part of the press conference.

Part two of the press conference

Solbakken: Ronaldo and Haaland playing together would be good for fans and football

Haaland was expected to attend the press conference today, but he didn't show up. Why?

Norway's media officer: Ståle (Solbakken) was also involved in this decision.

Solbakken: We naturally want him to focus and have the best possible conditions to prepare. As everyone knows, there have been external discussions in the past day, but that has nothing to do with the UEFA Nations League or what we'll do next. Rodri's press conference yesterday is a perfect example; it wasn't about the UEFA Nations League either. So I think Haaland should focus on his task now. His task is to score for Norway, and I think everyone agrees that's what matters most.

Did you decide not to have Haaland attend?

I was at least involved in this decision.

How do you view the massive attention this issue has received over the past 24 hours?

These things happen, and I'm not here to discuss it. The UK Prime Minister said people should stay calm over the next few days, and I agree with him. Besides, I have nothing more to say. I also can't comment, because I know as much or as little as you do.

You said you were involved in this decision. Who else was involved?

I think Sjånesberg probably also offered some input.

Did you have any contact with Man City yesterday afternoon?

I won't discuss that. We're here to play the UEFA Nations League. If you want to ask about that, ask the people involved at Manchester. They have three press conferences a week for many weeks to come, so you'll have plenty of opportunities to ask there.

Generally, with such a long training camp, how do you balance giving media access to Haaland and letting him focus on preparation?

That certainly needs to be considered. Making this decision now doesn't mean he won't attend future press conferences. It's just that right now, we've decided to arrange it this way.

This issue will affect not just Man City but also Haaland for a long time ahead. How do you think he reacted to yesterday's news?

I haven't spoken to him yet.

Based on your understanding of him, how do you think this will affect his preparation for tomorrow's match and the training camp later this month?

I think he can handle it well.

He also didn't give a post-match interview after the Denmark game. There are four matches in this training camp. Are you reconsidering different media arrangements for his interviews given previous and current situations? Will he continue...

For now, things remain as they are.

What do you expect from Haaland and the team against Portugal tomorrow?

Hopefully it will be another balanced and competitive match. Though Portugal is a very strong opponent, we won't lower our standards because of that. They may have a slight advantage, but this is our home. I think the match will be very intense.

How different is Portugal when Ronaldo is on the pitch compared to when he isn't?

If he's on the pitch, he's the heart of the team and their goalscorer. In their last match against Wales, he also had two or three good chances.

Portugal changed coaches, and their style of play is somewhat different from when Martinez was in charge. Of course, the new coach has only managed one match so far; however, combining his coaching methods from his previous work with other teams and Portugal's performance against Wales, some changes in their style of play can be seen. We need to account for these things and see if we can analyze them thoroughly. After all, they've only played one match, and players have only trained together for a few days, so there could still be one or two surprising changes tomorrow. We'll keep that in mind.

Ronaldo can score with his left foot, right foot, and head, and he can score both inside and outside the penalty area. How do you plan to contain him?

Many people have asked this question. He's scored nearly a thousand goals, which shows not all teams succeed in containing him. He still has good jumping ability, and his pace is still quite good. But most importantly, he still has a keen sense for goals and chances in every match. In fact, he also scored three goals at the World Cup, so he's still very dangerous. However, we're not a team that assigns individual man-marking duties. Wherever he goes, the player responsible for that area will have to take on the defensive responsibility.

Have you assigned specific defensive duties to a specific center-back? Or are you planning to?

No, not at all.

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