Slovenia failed to overturn the away loss to Norway in the UEFA Nations League home leg on 14 November, losing 1:4 to the team starring Erling Haaland to squander all chances of finishing first in Group 3 of League B and advancing directly to League A.

The things did not start well for Slovenia at Stožice Stadium in Ljubljana in front of some 15,300 spectators as Antonio Nusa scored for Norway as early as in the 4th minute.

Slovenia's budding star Benjamin Šeško equalised in the 21st minute from a penalty kick, but this would turn out to be the only goal for the hosts in the match.

Superstar Haaland scored in the 45th minute to make it 2:1 for Norway, and Nusa scored another goal in the 59th minute to take them up to 3:1.

Jens Petter Hauge sealed the deal in the 83rd minute after finding himself alone in front of Slovenia's goalie Jan Oblak to set the final score at 4:1 for Norway, which now share the first place in the group with Austria with ten points each.

Slovenia thus failed to avenge the 0:3 loss at the hands of Norway in Oslo on 10 October and squandered all chances of finishing first in their group, which would allow them advancing directly to League A.

They will play Austria in Vienna on 17 November in the last round of the Nations League, seeking promotion to the play-offs for the elite group of the competition that replaces the international friendly matches previously played on the FIFA calendar.

If they fail, they will face the second-placed team of League C in March in a bid to prevent being relegated to the lower league.

Slovenia's head coach Matjaž Kek congratulated Norway on what he said was a well-deserved victory. "This win is a good slap in the face for all of us. Not only technically and tactically, we were also not mentally at the right level today," he said.

Jaka Bijol, who anchors Slovenia's defence, said Norway gave Slovenia a very tough time beyond any expectations. "We have to keep our heads up. We have another tough match in Austria coming up soon and we will have to show a much better performance."