Tottenham Hotspur’s Europa League semifinal opponent, Norwegian side Bodø/Glimt, are in a world of hurt heading into Thursday’s match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. I wrote last week that Bodø/Glimt will be without three players due to suspension, including club captain Patrick Berg and starting midfielder Hakon Evjen.
Add injuries to the list. Reports out of Norway say Bodø/Glimt could be missing two additional important players — winger Ole Blomberg missed their last match with an injury he sustained recently and is a doubt for Thursday, and central defender Odin Bjørtuft (which might be the coolest and most Norwegian name I’ve ever heard for a CB) left their last match with what appeared to be a groin injury. Bjortuft in particular has been one of the rocks in Bodø/Glimt’s back line, and his absence will be keenly felt.
As a rule we do not celebrate when players from opposition teams get injured. That’s both rude and also a pretty toxic thing to do, no matter who you root for. And honestly, what Bodø/Glimt are going through sounds pretty familiar after watching Spurs on the struggle bus for most of 2025 due to injury concerns of their own.
However, it’s undeniable that this situation helps Tottenham a great deal going into Thursday. Spurs’ biggest potential miss will be Son Heung-Min, who is working to recover from a foot injury, and it’s an open question as to whether he’ll be fit in time to play. But Spurs are pretty healthy otherwise, and should be able to put out a very strong team at home against the Fightin’ Norwegians (no, this is not their nickname but we’re going to say it is).
It goes without saying that this is a massive opportunity for Tottenham. While they technically don’t have to win (see their comeback win over Frankfurt after drawing the home tie), they won’t get a better opportunity to run up the score on their opponents to the extent that it’s possible. Bodø/Glimt are 6-1 at home in the Europa League with wins over Porto, Besiktas, Olimpiacos, and Lazio, and their only loss coming, inexplicably, to Qarabag in the group stage. They are not a club to overlook in Norway, and taking a substantial win north of the Wall would be advisable.