and second half. On 17 November 2010, Pedersen scored in the 34th minute to equalise, playing the full 90 minutes against Republic of Ireland, at the Aviva Stadium, scoring with a superb curling free-kick into the top corner in a 2–1 win. On 4 June 2011, Pedersen started the Euro 2012 qualifier against Portugal in Lisbon, where he played the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 defeat. On 7 June 2011, he completed the full 90 minutes and was Norway's matchwinner when he scored in the 83rd minute from a rebound after he missed a penalty against Lithuania in a friendly game held in Oslo. He played his last match so far for Norway against Greece on 15 August 2012 in a 2–3 loss, and he has been capped 74 times scoring 14 goals. Gamst Pedersen was left off of the squad for the 2014 World Cup qualifying matches against Iceland and Slovenia in September 2012, and was not called up for the national team for over a year when on 11 November 2013 he was included in Per-Mathias Høgmo squad for the friendly matches against Denmark and Scotland after Daniel Braaten called absent due to an injury. Personal life Morten Gamst Pedersen is the son of Ernst Pedersen, a former footballer who played in the Norwegian Premier League for Bodø/Glimt and Vålerenga in the late 1970s and early 1980s. His father trained Morten to use his left foot rather than his natural right foot in a bid to help him become a professional player, as there is less competition for left-sided roles within the sport. As a result, his left foot has become his dominant foot. Pedersen is of partial Sami origin. In a 2007 interview with Sami newspaper Ságat, Pedersen said he has Sami blood from both parents, though mostly from his mother's side. However, he admits his knowledge of the Sami language is very limited. Pedersen fronted Norwegian boyband The Players, alongside fellow footballers Freddy dos Santos, Raymond Kvisvik, Kristofer Hæstad and Øyvind Svenning. Released in aid of the Soccer Against Crime campaign, their first single became a hit across Scandinavia. Pedersen is a distant relative of Norwegian musician Paul Waaktaar-Savoy. Pedersen used nicotine patches for the last 5 years of his career. Career statistics Club International Scores and results list Norway's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Gamst Pedersen goal Honours Tromsø 1.