Norway striker Erling Haaland set one other document on Thursday after he netted twice in a 3-0 Nations League win over Slovenia to turn into his nation’s all-time main worldwide scorer with 34 objectives.
Captaining the facet within the absence of the injured Martin Odegaard, Haaland embraced the additional duty, however as soon as once more it was his objectives that grabbed the headlines.
“After all, it’s massive and historic. I’m glad, and it’s a unbelievable document to attain … I’ve a few years left. I’m having fun with myself,” Haaland instructed reporters.
The burly striker drilled house the opener within the seventh minute after Jan Oblak might solely parry Antonio Nusa’s stinging shot into his path to go degree with Joergen Juve, the final of whose 33 worldwide objectives got here towards an Austrian novice worldwide facet in 1934.
Haaland might have damaged the document early within the second half however he flashed a header excessive over the bar, and fellow ahead Alexander Sorloth made it 2-0 to Norway after Slovenia defender Vanja Drkusic’s tried clearance rolled into his path.
Identified for his direct, highly effective model, Haaland spent a lot of the early a part of the second half making an attempt to tee up his teammates, however within the 62nd minute Sorloth served him an ideal move and he buried it with a trademark left-foot shot to maneuver to the highest of Norway’s scoring charts.
Haaland‘s thirty fourth purpose got here in his thirty sixth worldwide, 9 fewer than Juve performed in his profession – although Juve hit 34 in his first 27 video games, earlier than later switching position to defence.
The 24-year-old Manchester Metropolis striker turned up all around the subject, heading clearances in defence and orchestrating their assaults as Norway put in certainly one of their most full performances in years in entrance of their house crowd.
“It was a effectively executed match. I’m proud. It’s a document that has stood for a very long time … I felt good. It’s been a very long time since I’ve had this a lot vitality on the sector,” Haaland stated.
Norway, who haven’t certified for the finals of a serious match since Euro 2000, high League B Group 3 with seven factors, three forward of Austria and Slovenia, with Kazakhstan backside on one level. Stale Solbakken’s facet face a troublesome journey to face Austria on Sunday.
“Now we’ve got a tough away recreation – despite the fact that we gained at house, we should not construct up our expectations an excessive amount of, we should not hype ourselves up an excessive amount of,” Haaland stated.
