Norway manager Stale Solbakken has taken time out from his preparations for tonight's World Cup quarter-final with England in Miami to send his best wishes to Newcastle United legend Kevin Keegan. The former Magpies captain and manager, who also led the Three Lions on the field as well as in the dugout, revealed in June that he has stage four cancer.
Childhood Hero
Keegan is a name known throughout football, and Solbakken has explained how he watched the former Liverpool star while growing up in his native Norway. He admits a dramatic moment in the 1982 World Cup in Spain has stayed with him to this day.
"My biggest regret in World Cup history is that Kevin Keegan did not score when he came on against Spain in 1982," Solbakken said. "He was my big hero. I hope Kevin is well. We had Match of the Day on the television from the late 1960s and early 1970s when it was one game on the telly, and everyone had a team they followed. My team was Liverpool and Kevin was my man. So I say hello to Kevin."
World Cup Quarter-Final
Tonight's game has been billed as a shoot-out between two of the game's most in-form strikers in England's Harry Kane and Norway's Erling Haaland. However, Solbakken insists it will be far more than that, with both sides boasting hugely important players.
"It's Norway against England. It's not a secret that Kane is match-winner number one for England and Erling is match-winner number one for us," Solbakken said. "There's no doubt that Haaland is our biggest match-winner, but I think you underestimate some of the other players if you think that's the whole theme. He also needs service, but you can't deny that he is a big, big match-winner for us."
