Slovenia suffered a crushing 0:3 defeat at the hands of Norway in their third UEFA Nations League Group match in Oslo on 10 October to fall from top to third spot in their Group B3.

Erling Haaland scored for Norway in the 7th and 63rd minutes, while Alexander Sorloth added a goal in the 52nd minute of the game, in which Slovenia were all but chanceless.

Slovenia came into the tough away fixture with several problems, missing key players due to injuries and illness. To add to their difficulties, Matjaž Kek's assistant coach, Boštjan Cesar, unexpectedly departed to take up the role of head coach in Maribor.

The defeat marks the team's seventh loss against Norway in 12 matches, with Slovenia having won twice and drawn three times. They also ended their 12-match unbeaten run when excluding the penalty shoot-out loss to Portugal at 2024 Euro.

"Congratulations and compliments to Norway. A deserved victory. Slovenia have not been this powerless in a long time. We did not deserve anything other than a result like this," head coach Kek said during the post-match press conference in Oslo.

He said everything they had prepared and discussed fell apart at the start of both halves. "Mistakes happen, and some days are just like that, but what worries me more is the body language. If we don't play with full commitment, aggression, and fight, we can't compete against anyone," he added.

Following a draw in their UEFA Nations League opener against Austria, a win over Kazakhstan and now a defeat against Norway, Slovenia remain on four points just like Austria while Norway has seven and Kazakhstan one. Slovenia will play the latter next in Almaty on 13 October.