Brattbakk sees a strong Scotland ahead of Euro 2024 qualifier in Norway

Harald Brattbakk believes the Norwegian public are underestimating Scotland ahead of the crucial Euro 2024 qualifier in Oslo on Saturday.

Steve Clarke’s side began their campaign in March with a 3-0 home win over Cyprus and a thrilling 2-0 victory over Spain, also at Hampden Park, to leave them top of Group A with six points from six.

Norway, for their part, have one point after a defeat by Spain and a draw in Georgia.

Former Celtic and Norway striker Brattbakk, speaking at Hampden Park, where he was promoting Viaplay’s coverage of Scotland’s games against Norway and Georgia, said: “People in Norway don’t look at the Scottish team beating Spain, they just look at why we lost.

“The Scotland team is flying a little bit under the radar.

“I know everyone in the Norway team is taking Scotland seriously but if you ask the man in the street they will say Scotland is just a little hurdle to get over – but it is not.

“The Scottish team is strong, they have so many good players. You may not have heard of everyone but a lot of them play in the Premier League, there is some really good quality in the team. But the man in the street is underestimating Scotland as they are now.

“I was comparing the two squads in terms of Premier League players and that is obviously in favour of the Scotland team.

“We do have the two brilliant players in Martin Odegaard and Erling Haaland and I would also say that is also the problem for Norway because we might be depending too much on them.

“So in that respect the game on Saturday will be more even than people will think.

“Norway will be depending on getting those two players to do well but on the other side the Scottish side is, maybe player by player, an inch better. So it is more close than people will think.”