Israel 0 Norway 1, January 20th 1999

Norway scraped to a dull 1-0 win against Israel courtesy of an 11th minute penalty from Bent Skammelsrud.

Italian referee Pierluigi Collina blew up for a push in the area but the home side were clearly shocked at the decision to give Norway a penalty for a less than blatant foul.

The visitors did not deserve to be ahead at the break after negative tactics all but killed the game as a spectacle. Israel failed to make an impression against the second string Norwegian back line which was every bit as physical and uncompromising as their senior side.

When Israel did get into an attack they failed to hit the target although two shots did hit the woodwork early on in the game. Alon Mizrahi made a difference in the second half when he came on a substitute but Israel never looked like finishing their good work against a Norway sdie that seemed reluctant to even play one striker in attack.