Familiar Molineux Faces Set For Major World Cup Roles

Wolves are no strangers to the practice of installing former international managers to Molineux’s top job – now the flow in the opposite direction is quickening, with impressive results.

Two and three decades on from when Glenn Hoddle, Mick McCarthy and Graham Taylor were appointed here, two bosses from the club’s relatively recent past have led their employers to World Cup qualification.

Congratulations to Stale Solbakken for the stunning 4-1 weekend win in Milan that confirmed Norway’s progress to the United States, Canada and Mexico next summer and left Italy in danger of missing out on another tournament finals.

Jorgen Strand Larsen was among the scorers on a sensational day which confirmed Norway as group winners and provided the highlight of Solbakken’s five years in charge to date.

The 57-year-old from 50 miles north east of Oslo succeeded Lars Lagerback in the latter months of Nuno Espirito Santo’s Wolves reign and takes the country to a first World Cup finals since the staging in France, 1998.

That tournament was the setting for Hoddle’s best period as England boss and came four years before McCarthy and the Republic of Ireland overcame Roy Keane’s infamous walk-out to reach the knockout stages in Japan and South Korea.

Julen Lopetegui, who was born less than a month after England’s greatest ever football triumph, was still playing in Spain’s top flight in 1998 when Hoddle’s side suffered a controversial and particularly painful exit at the hands of Argentina.

But he is now in charge of the Qatar side who qualified a month ago for the first time thanks to a 2-1 win over the United Arab Emirates. Their participation on home soil in 2022 was because they were the hosts.

The Spaniard, having also served West Ham since his eve-of-season departure from Wolves two and a half years ago, was appointed in the Gulf on May 1 on a contract that is due to run until the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.

So, for the first time, two former Wolves bosses will be in the dug-out at a World Cup finals – and we shouldn’t forget that Darren Bazeley will be hands-on there as well.

As we recorded at the time, the ex-Molineux utility man led New Zealand to qualification as far back as March – their first appearance in the tournament proper since 1980s Wolves defender Ricki Herbert took them to South Africa in 2010.

The All Whites drew 1-1 against Solbakken’s Norway in Oslo in March and have been in America these last few days for two more friendlies.

They lost to a goal two minutes from time against Colombia in front of a sell-out crowd in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday and play Ecuador in New Jersey tomorrow.

While we look ahead to a summer spectacular that will have Cape Verde, Jordan and Uzbekistan as debutants, it is also worth mentioning that Andy Beattie actually quit as Scotland boss half-way through the 1954 tournament in Switzerland. That was ten years before he succeeded Stan Cullis at Molineux.

*In 2023, Stale Solbakken gave a senior international debut to his son, Markus, a 25-year-old midfielder who joined Aarhus this summer soon after the departure of Uwe Rosler and Rob Kelly from the Danish club.