Kane's stardom no surprise to ex-Norway midfielder
· Yahoo Sports
Former Norway midfielder Alex Tettey said confidence is high ahead of his nation's World Cup clash with England – as long as his former Norwich City team-mate Harry Kane is kept quiet.
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The Scandinavians are on a high for the quarter-final in Miami at 22:00 BST on Saturday, having beaten Brazil 2-0 thanks to goals from talisman Erling Haaland.
But the Three Lions are also rejuvenated after an epic 3-2 win in Mexico in which star striker Kane scored one and set up another.
The England skipper had a loan spell at Norwich as a youngster that was disrupted by injury, but Tettey recalled: "I still remember how well he struck the ball and how well he could finish."
Although he failed to score in the Premier League for the Canaries during 2012-13, Kane has gone on to become a world-class player and England's record goalscorer.
Tettey, 40, said: "I wasn't surprised at all when he started becoming the striker he is now, as he had some attributes already as a young man that were incredible to see.
"So yeah, he's top, top, top. He has the eye for the goal but he also – with the way he's been playing at Bayern Munich and with the national team – can drop deep; he can all of a sudden be a midfielder who dictates things, he can score goals.
"So he's going to be a man that Norway definitely shouldn't give opportunities to."
Harry Kane (right) failed to score for Norwich as he made five loan appearances during the 2012-13 season [Getty Images]Tettey spent nine seasons with Norwich, becoming the only player to enjoy three promotions with the Norfolk club as he made 263 appearances.
He is now a coach back home in Norway with another of his former clubs, Rosenborg, where he had a brief stint as interim first-team manager earlier this year.
The Canaries legend said Norwegian fans were "buzzing" but also "calm and chilled" as their team has already surpassed expectation in reaching the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the first time.
Alex Tettey (right) tackles England's Ashley Young during friendly action for Norway at Wembley in 2012 [Getty Images]More stories from Norfolk
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England are fourth in the Fifa men's rankings and Norway 19th but Tettey said it was difficult to predict who would come out on top.
"It's going to be a different kind of game than against Brazil," he added, speaking to BBC Radio Norfolk sports editor Phil Daley.
"There are some tactical aspects going through this game. Can England stop Haaland? Can England stop [Martin] Odegaard dictating the game?
"Can the Norwegian team stop Harry Kane from both getting chances, dictating the game? Can they stop Jude Bellingham going through the box?
"There's a lot of tactical dimensions going through this."
The victor will go on to play either Argentina or Switzerland in Atlanta on Wednesday (20:00 BST) in the semi-finals.
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