Erling Haaland has never seen Norway take part in a FIFA World Cup™. On the eve of his nation’s match against Italy, he admitted that returning his side to the finals has been one of his main ambitions ever since his first call-up in 2019.
The Manchester City giant, who is already the country’s record goalscorer, has now fulfilled the dream of an entire nation. Over 5,000 Norwegian supporters were in full voice at San Siro, cheering their side on to a victory which looked unlikely when Pio Esposito drew first blood for the hosts.
Ahead of the game, even Gennaro Gattuso recognised that Norway posed a genuine threat to his side: “Norway often give off a sense of vulnerability, only to suddenly tear you apart and leave you floundering.” Like riding a mechanical bull. Italy looked shellshocked, barely hanging on, before completely capitulating.
Antonio Nusa levelled just after the hour, before Haaland gave Norway the lead and then extended it a minute later. Jorgen Strand Larsen emerged from the bench to put added gloss on the scoreline and cap a dream evening for Norwegians the world over.
“We’re over the moon with what we’ve achieved in the qualifiers; it honestly couldn’t have gone any better for us,” Haaland admitted at full-time. “We were champing at the bit to show the world what we could do tonight against a tough team on their own patch. It’s one of the first times we’ve gotten the better of a top 10 ranked team on the road. Now we’re excited to take on the likes of England, France, Brazil and Argentina and give it our all against the very best. Expectations on us have suddenly gone up a notch.”
Haaland added another layer to a history-making campaign. The brace took him to 16 goals, which levelled Robert Lewandowski’s record tally from Russia 2018 qualifying. He also became the first player in the history of the continent’s qualifying competition to net in all of his side’s games when playing more than six matches. His strike partner Alexander Sorloth, who himself scored five himself this campaign, waxed lyrical about his prolific strike partner.
“It doesn’t bother me that all eyes are on him. If anything, it’s better for me,” the hulking forward admitted. “Defenders are always so preoccupied with keeping Erling in check, which allows me to slip under the radar and go unmarked. It helps me a lot.”
After the referee brought proceedings to a close, the whole team gathered in a circle around coach Stale Solbakken and lifted him up in the air. During the pre-match warm-up, they were again gathered around him, but for a different reason. He had given his side a very clear team talk: “If any of you fail to turn up today, I’ll go berserk.”
He must have been elated in the dressing room after the match, where Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon also joined the celebrations and commented in the press area: “This is an incredibly tight-knit team, and they play really well together. Football is the greatest sport in the world, and playing it well is a real joy. The whole team showed up and delivered.”
