Norway’s national football team bounced back from a crushing defeat on home turf against Austria on Friday to a brilliant performance away against Northern Ireland. Erling Braut Haaland, Norway’s new football star, put on a “stunning show,” according to one local sports commentator, scoring two of Norway’s five goals.
“He truly is a spectacular talent,” raved commentator Steven Beacom of the Belfast Telegraph. “If it wasn’t against Northern Ireland, I might enjoy it.”
Norway’s 5-1 victory over Northern Ireland helped make up for its 1-2 loss against Austria on Friday. Coach Lars Lagerbäck started out with both Haaland and Alexander Sørloth in Monday night’s Nations League match, and state broadcaster NRK’s commentator called that a “very good” decision that resulted in “great cooperation between two world-class players.”
Haaland told TV2 afterwards that he also thought everything functioned very well. “We had fun out there, both of us, it was a great match,” Haaland said. He and Sørloth each scored two goals, with Mohamed Elyounoussi scoring the very first.
The national team matches are aimed at qualifying for the World Cup in Qatar in 2022. Next up in Norway’s group is a match against Serbia, back home in Oslo on October 8.
newsinenglish.no staff
