The Union’s Jakob Glesnes gears up for another big game at Atlanta United

With all that has happened since then, it feels like it has been a lot more than two years since Jakob Glesnes’ famous long-range goal in Atlanta.

But it really hasn’t been that long since Glesnes unleashed his 30-yard blast in the 93rd minute at Mercedes-Benz Stadium that stole a 2-2 tie for the Union in a nationally televised game on June 21, 2021.

“It feels like forever,” the big Norwegian centerback said this week. “Maybe it was because I didn’t score the whole last year as well.”

Glesnes’ header off a corner kick against Inter Miami last Saturday was his first goal since Nov. 20, 2021, when he launched another long-range rocket for a late game-winner in the playoffs against the New York Red Bulls.

On Sunday, the Union will be in Atlanta again, coincidentally for another nationally televised contest — and the team’s only afternoon kickoff of the season (4:25 p.m., Fox29, Fox Deportes, free on Apple TV).

While that playoff goal stands as Glesnes’ most significant here, it might not top the Atlanta one for quality. The shot was smashed after a run upfield, over a leaping Brad Guzan, and hit so hard that it ricocheted off the crossbar, down over the goal line, and then bounced up and hit the crossbar twice more before settling.

» READ MORE: Jakob Glesnes signed a new deal with the Union in March that keeps him here through 2025

The goal is one of many reasons Glesnes has never lost to Atlanta in six Union games against the Five Stripes, four in the regular season and two in the Concacaf Champions League. In games down south, there have been two ties in the regular season — 2-2 in 2021 and scoreless last year — and a stunning 3-0 rout in the Champions League in ‘21.

“Two years ago, we were showing our team again — we were staying until the end and we were getting a result in the last second,” Glesnes said of his team’s rally from 2-0 down in the final 10 or so minutes. “And then we did the same against Orlando two weeks ago. And I feel like that’s one of the strengths in our team.”

It isn’t always a good idea for players to admit they get up for some teams more than others. But there’s little doubt that meetings with Atlanta mean a little more for the Union, as they do for most MLS teams thanks to the Five Stripes’ huge home crowds and star-studded squad.

“Yeah, you can say so,” Glesnes said. “We have to respect how good they are, because they have good individual players. We are always in for a good fight against them, and we know that they’re really good with the ball, and if we defend well, we always get good chances there to score goals.”

» READ MORE: Jakob Glesnes was last year's MLS Defender of the Year

Atlanta’s biggest star is Argentine midfielder Thiago Almada. It was big enough news when he made his country’s World Cup squad last fall, and even bigger news when he played in the tournament. Then he reached an unprecedented pinnacle: the first active MLS player to win a World Cup title.

“He’s a really good player,” Glesnes said. “He played the World Cup and was winning, and he’s doing well in MLS. So it’s probably a question of time before he’s moving on to a bigger league.”

Back in Norway, they didn’t pay as much attention to Almada as they did the rest of Argentina’s team. Glesnes called that “surprising.” But with Almada’s most famous teammate, Lionel Messi, about to join Inter Miami, will perceptions change now?

It would undoubtedly help Glesnes’ stock with Norway’s national team. He has barely gotten a sniff from the squad since a call-up in October 2019, when he watched a European Championship qualifier at Romania from the bench.

Norway has good defenders, including centerback Kristoffer Ajer of the English Premier League’s Brentford. But manager Ståle Solbakken and his staff seem to not even be interested in inviting Glesnes to a camp to see how he compares.

» READ MORE: José Andrés Martínez is the Union’s only player selected as an All-Star this year

“It looks like they don’t rate MLS high enough,” Glesnes said. “They have a lot of good players that are playing in good leagues, so I understand. It is how it is — if you’re playing good enough, you will get a call-up. But so far I haven’t got any call-ups.”

That came up in the Union’s locker room a few weeks ago, when Norway lost to Scotland in a Euro 2024 qualifier. Playing at home, Norway took a 1-0 lead into the 87th minute, then gave away two late goals with some pretty bad defending — especially on the equalizer.

Perhaps it could have done with a better … well, you know.

“When you let two goals in at the end, the centerback and the defense get a lot of the blame,” Glesnes said. “And then people start talking, but that’s how it is everywhere.”

Everywhere, it seems, people are talking, except to him.

» READ MORE: Zack Steffen is back home in Downingtown, a place that still means a lot to the USMNT goalkeeper

Starting left back Kai Wagner will miss Sunday’s game because of a right hamstring injury he suffered in the first half against Miami.

It isn’t clear exactly when the injury happened, and the Union haven’t said anything yet about the severity. Wagner left the Miami game at halftime, and a few minutes into the second half he walked back to the Union’s bench with a bag of ice taped to his leg.