Norwegian commentators stopped short of announcing "Salvador Dali, General Franco, your boys took one hell of a beating". But then, Spain being Spain, it was difficult to know whether this really constituted a significant shock.

When Jose Camacho found his side touted as favourites before the tournament he was having none of it. "I would remind everyone," he said, "that Spain aren't great achievers in international football." Yesterday his players wasted no time in proving his point, their lavish talent punctured on the horns of Viking discipline.

A Steffen Iversen header midway through the second half was enough to give Norway a victory which confirmed that if Spain are the world's great underachievers, they belong at the other end of the scale.

As Spain trooped off, heads bowed, the familiarity of it all can hardly have escaped them. In France two years ago they were supposedly potential winners. Yet they began by losing to Nigeria, followed that with a goalless draw against Paraguay and beat Bulgaria 6-1 only when it was too late. When the going gets tough the Spanish have nasty habit of getting going: on the first flight back to Iberia that is.

Of course they can redeem themselves against Yugoslavia and Slovenia but it will need far greater invention and cutting edge than they showed here. The good news for Camacho is that neither of his next two opponents are likely to match Norway for sheer efficiency and hard work at the back. Erik Mykland was oustanding in midfield, Bjorn Otto Bragstad, who is coveted by Derby, impressed in the centre of defence. But, typically, this was a team effort.

Norway may not be attractive to watch but they are certainly effective. Pulling 10 men behind the ball whenever possible, they squeezed the life out of an increasingly frustrated Spanish side and struck on the counter-attack. Despite scoring 42 goals in a qualifying group which included San Marino, Israel, Cyprus and Austria the suspicion was that Spain would struggle to break down tougher opponents. And so it proved.

Their dominance of possession was marked yet they created little. Raul was peripheral, unable to weave his magic. The one opportunity he had he wasted. Without his individuality Spain looked at best neat but uninspired, rarely achieving the width which might have offered their best chance of success.

Through the middle they were consistently suffocated. Norway were happy to allow the playmaker Sep Guardiola time in deep positions but once Spain reached the final third they found two great walls of white blocking their way. Unable to turn and constantly harassed, they ended up heading backwards, sideways or nowhere.

Egil Olsen left big wellies to fill but Nils Johan Semb, his successor as coach, has done so more than adequately. Iversen's goal was classic route one but there is more sophistication and neat passing about this Norway side without sacrificing the discipline, unity and selfless running which made them so effective.

"I'm very proud of the performance and the team spirit," Semb said. "It is a big achievement for a small nation like Norway to beat one of the favourites in our first match."

In the first half Ole Gunnar Solskjaer headed against the bar from an Andre Bergdolomo cross and scuffed his shot after spinning on a Vegard Heggem centre. But Spain did have chances.

Joseba Etxeberria went close from long range and Thomas Mhyre saved well from a header by the disappointing Ismael Urzaiz, who had neither the fleetness of foot nor the aerial strength to pose consistent problems. Raul went close, too, wastefully dragging his shot wide after an error by Henning Berg.

The significance of that miss was emphasised in the 66th minute when Iversen scored. Mhyre lofted a free-kick towards the edge of the area and Iversen's flick header drifted over Francisco Molina, who had raced rashly off his line.

For all their late pressure Spain came no closer to an equaliser than a near-post Gaizka Mendieta shot which Mhyre saved. Yet Camacho resorted to disparaging comments about the Egyptian referee Gamal El Ghandour and insisted his team had suffered from "an enormous slice of bad luck on the counter-attack". An enormous slice of poor goalkeeping, more like.

"It was one of those things," Camacho said. "Sometimes the ball does not want to go in. I'm not worried because we are creating chances and trying to shoot at goal. I said to my players if we play with this attitude we can win our next two games."

Maybe. But with Spain in a major tournament it is always best to expect the unexpected.