Norway no longer overawed by World Cup, says Solbakken as England await

MIAMI, July 10 : Norway have shed their World Cup jitters and now believe deep down they can beat England in the quarter-finals, coach Stale Solbakken said on Friday as his team prepare for the biggest game in the nation's history.

The Norwegians are gearing up for their first World Cup last-eight appearance and Solbakken urged his players not to be overawed by the occasion when they face Thomas Tuchel's England side on Saturday.

"The most important thing for me is that we are ourselves with the ball and that we dare to play the game and not the whole environment, and that we concentrate on the pitch," Solbakken told reporters.

"I would like to see a Norway team that plays to their strengths and that we are ourselves."

Norway's tournament got off to a shaky start against Iraq, with Solbakken admitting his players seemed overwhelmed by the occasion in their group opener before finding their rhythm in a 4-1 victory.

"You saw a very nervous team in the first 20 minutes against Iraq where we didn't manage to put two passes together," he said.

"That has to do something with the occasion, that it was 26 years ago (since Norway's last major tournament) and no one had played in the World Cup before."

CONFIDENCE BOOSTED BY BEATING BRAZIL

But the coach believes his players have found their feet after beating strong opponents like Brazil in the last-16, giving them the confidence to take on England's formidable attacking threat.

"Obviously, when you meet a team like England who have great players on the wings. (Jude) Bellingham and (Harry) Kane, they can score from many positions," Solbakken said.

"They have a great duo in the middle of the park. We need to compete there, we need to defend properly.

"The players deep down feel that they can