Manchester City striker Erling Haaland scored twice as Norway beat their Nordic rivals Denmark 3-2 in the Nations League on Thursday night
Erling Haaland was the hero for Manchester City as he scored twice to help Norway to a 3-2 victory over Denmark in the Nations League. Haaland’s brace moved him onto an astonishing 64 goals for his country, surpassing Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s totals for Brazil and Sweden, respectively.
Norway took the lead on 14 minutes when former City winger Oscar Bobb cut inside from the right, before curling a left-footed strike into the bottom corner. Haaland had his first of the night moments later, firing a strike between Filip Jorgensen’s legs to put Norway in control.
However, Denmark fought back. Mikkel Damsgaard’s free kick halved the lead to cap a frantic 11 minutes. On the hour mark, former Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund headed home to leave the match finely poised. But, as is so often the case, Haaland was the one to have the final say.
The striker fired home Martin Odegaard’s corner to get Norway off to a winning start and move them top of their Nations League group that also includes Portugal and Wales. After the game, the Norwegian media singled out Haaland for praise. TV2 wrote in their player ratings: “Erling Braut Haaland saves Norway again.
“Norway is at Level A in the Nations League. But Haaland is at a level no Norwegian player has ever been at. 64 goals in 56 international matches. Yes, you read that right. Extraterrestrial.” They added: “We have beaten Denmark in a significant match for the first time ever.
“It wasn’t always pretty, and Denmark had its periods, but we have Erling Braut Haaland. Most of the time, that’s good enough. Our Danish neighbours are green with envy that the world’s best striker is Norwegian.”
Speaking to Dagbladet post-match, Haaland’s Norwegian teammate and Fulham star Sander Berge said: “You don’t get to see all of Erling’s achievements. His statistics are absolutely ridiculous.
“His role model is Zlatan. They met in the World Cup. I was there as a third man behind the scenes. It was cool to see them next to each other. I think Zlatan thinks it’s cool that Erling delivers the way he does.
“It’s difficult to answer [if Haaland is better than Ibrahimovic]. But Erling is going to be one of the greatest of all time. That goes without saying. Erling is insane.”
Next up for Haaland and Norway is home clash with Portugal on Sunday. Cristiano Ronaldo’s team also have a 100 per cent record after beating 1-0 last night.
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