Odegaard: Silva ‘completely lost his head’ with late tackle

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

Martin Odegaard said Bernardo Silva’s tackle on him during Norway’s Nations League defeat to Portugal “does not belong on a football pitch”. 

The incident occurred during Sunday’s 2-1 loss to Portugal, with Goncalo Ramos punishing an error from Norway goalkeeper Orjan Nyland to seal the win. 

Joao Felix had given Portugal a first-half lead before Erling Haaland’s scoring streak continued as he tucked home from close range six minutes after the restart. 

In Norway’s attempts to find an equaliser, Odegaard picked up possession in his own half before Silva came in late and swiped at the Arsenal midfielder after the ball was played.

Odegaard was clearly angered by the nature of the challenge as, shortly after, he shouted at Silva when he was on the ball before the pair came together later on. 

Silva and Odegaard have faced off several times during battles between Manchester City and Arsenal, though the Norway captain said the nature of the tackle came from a player who had “completely lost his head”. 

“It does not belong on a football pitch,” Odegaard told TV2 about the challenge from Silva.

“It’s a shame that people behave like that. He completely lost his head. He just kicks me down long after I’ve played the ball. I don’t understand what he’s doing.”

The Norwegian striker is the Matchday 1 Player of the Round #UNLPOTR | @CarlsbergGroup pic.twitter.com/dyAwBhzo1u

— UEFA EURO (@UEFAEURO) September 28, 2026

Odegaard appeared to be in pain at the end of the game as he refrained from taking a corner, with his side chasing an equaliser, and crouched down with his head in his hands.

The Arsenal star revealed that Silva did not apologise for the tackle, and instead chose to downplay the incident. 

When he was leaving the Ullevaal Stadion, a reporter asked Silva about the challenge, to which he replied: “It’s football, my friend.”

Norway boss Stale Solbakken described the incident as “completely unnecessary”, while defender Leo Ostigard believed Silva should have been sent off. 

“The challenge from Bernardo Silva came very late,” Ostigard said. “From the video replay, the tackle was extremely ugly. I think a red card would have been fully justified.

“It’s a really nasty one. It’s just absolutely awful to do. That’s the kind of thing we don’t want to see happen to our captain.

“When it comes that long after the ball has gone, it looks pretty deliberate.”

Norway have two more fixtures during this international break, with a clash against Wales this Thursday followed up by a trip to Porto to face Portugal three days later. 

Asked whether he would miss upcoming games, Odegaard said: “I hope not. I got a knock on my ankle there, so it probably won’t be good [short term].”

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