Norway coach Per-Mattias Hogmo has called up Stromsgodset’s talented teenage playmaker Martin Odegaard to add creativity to his squad for the Euro 2016 qualifiers against Malta and Bulgaria.

The 15-year-old attacking midfielder will join a side whose attacking limitations were harshly exposed by Italy, who beat the Norwegians 2-0 in Oslo in their opening qualifier in September.

Despite having more possession than the Italians, the home side did not manage a single shot on target, disappointing the sold-out crowd hoping for a good start to the campaign.

“Martin has performed at a high level for a longer period,” Hogmo told a news conference in Oslo yesterday.

“He has shown quality in the Tippeligaen and he created chances on his debut.”

Odegaard became Norway’s youngest player when he made his debut in a friendly against the United Arab Emirates in August at the age of 15 years and 253 days.

The playmaker’s exciting dribbles and incisive passes for Stromsgodset have attracted the attention of top clubs like Barcelona and Bayern Munich, and scouts have been flocking to Drammen, just outside Oslo, to watch him.

Second-bottom of Group H, Norway are away to bottom side Malta on October 10.

Ghedin’s selection

This week, Malta coach Pietro Ghedin named his provisional squad for the home matches against Norway and Italy on October 13.

Ghedin will have to do without Valletta duo Jonathan Caruana (injured) and Steve Borg (suspended). However, he included the returning Clifford Gatt Baldacchino, the Sliema Wanderers centre-half, as possible cover for the notable absences in defence.

Also included in the preliminary list of national team players is promising midfielder Llywelyn Cremona.

The 19-year-old was prominent in Valletta’s last two outings which the City team both won at the expense of Sliema Wanderers (5-0) and Qormi (4-0).

Malta squad

Keepers: J. Haber, A. Hogg, N. Vella.

Defenders: A. Agius, S. Bezzina, R. Briffa, C. Gatt Baldacchino, R. Camilleri, C. Failla, E. Herrera, J. Grioli, Z. Muscat.

Midfielders: A. Cohen, L. Cremona, P. Fenech, R. Fenech, B. Kristensen, J. Mintoff, R. Muscat, S. Pisani, A. Schembri, R. Scicluna.

Forwards: M. Mifsud, J.P. Farrugia, T. Vella.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.