Martin Odegaard confronted Bernardo Silva after suffering a late challenge from the former Manchester City midfielder during Norway’s Nations League encounter with Portugal on Sunday.
Portugal secured back-to-back victories under new manager Jorge Jesus, with Joao Felix and Goncalo Ramos finding the net in a 2-1 triumph against Norway.
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A major talking point from the Group D meeting in Oslo was an incident involving Arsenal skipper Odegaard, who was left struggling after Silva caught him on the back of the leg with a late tackle.
Odegaard, clearly angered by the challenge, then approached Silva, who seemingly avoided engaging with him by deliberately turning his gaze away.
🚨Bernardo Silvia kicked Martin Ødegaard after he had already passed the ball pic.twitter.com/IJssaYJpZY
— Polymarket Sports (@PolymarketSport) September 27, 2026
The Norway captain was spotted limping while heading towards the team bus later that evening and was questioned about his clash with Silva during an interview with Norwegian broadcaster TV 2.
“He completely lost his head,” said Odegaard. “He just kicked me down long after I’d played the ball. I didn’t understand what he was doing.”
The 27-year-old also discussed the condition of his injury, saying: “I took a knock to my ankle. It probably won’t feel great tonight, but I’m hoping it settles down over the next few days.”
Odegaard was not the only Norway player unhappy with Silva’s challenge, as defender Leo Ostigaard also criticised the Portuguese midfielder and described the tackle as “quite deliberate”.
“It’s terribly ugly,” he told Norwegian TV. “It’s just terribly bad. These are the kinds of things we don’t want in our captain. When it comes so long after, it looks quite deliberate. It’s very late. When you see it afterwards on video, it’s very ugly. It could well be red.”
Silva was approached by journalists in the mixed zone after the match and asked about the incident. As he was about to leave the stadium, he offered a brief response: “My friend, it’s football.”
Haaland brought Norway level with his 65th international goal, but Portugal responded quickly as AC Milan forward Goncalo Ramos scored what proved to be the winning goal.
Norway will look to respond when they face Wales on Thursday (October), while Portugal will meet Denmark as they aim to maintain their unbeaten run in this season’s Nations League.
The sides are scheduled to face each other again on Sunday (October 4), potentially setting up another battle between Odegaard and Silva.
