Ground staff at Ullevaal Stadium are preparing for substantial snowfall while General manager Carl Bernhard Svenke confirmed that specialist snow-clearing teams are ready to work continuously to keep the playing surface clear for the final training sessions and the match.
Stadium officials remain optimistic about keeping the grass playable while weather forecasts warn of broader snow chaos across the Norwegian capital.
Although weather specialists foresee challenges, the atmosphere in the Norwegian camp remains unexpectedly calm about the condition of the turf.
Stadium officials are relying extensively on advanced technology to counter the below-freezing temperatures and frozen precipitation.
Training for the Norwegians was scheduled to begin at 12:00 on Thursday but had to be postponed. According to the forecast from YR, snowfall is expected consistently throughout the day.
"The question is whether we’ll be able to train or not. We could postpone the session by a couple of hours, but I’m not sure. (Assistant coach Brede) Hangeland is in constant contact with the groundskeeper," said national team manager Stale Solbakken during a press conference shortly before 11:00 on Thursday.
"We saw the weather forecast yesterday and realized things could get bad, so we held an extended 11-on-11 session yesterday—a bit more than we usually do," Solbakken said, ruling out the possibility of training on artificial turf.
The snowfall is too heavy for the under-soil heating system to clear it away.
"As long as we don't disturb the surface, the grass will be fine, but it’s impossible to train there with this much snow. We have the under-soil heating on, but it depends on the weather," Svenke told NRK.
Both Norway and Wales urgently need a victory to avoid finishing bottom of Group A4 and suffering relegation. The match is scheduled to go ahead on Saturday at 18.00 CET.