Erling Haaland Gives Entire Norway Squad Gift as World Cup Qualification Nears
The Manchester City forward will likely feature at next summer's World Cup alongside international teammate and Arsenal captain Odegaard.
Erling Haaland treated his Norway teammates to presents after he scored a brace in the nation’s 4-1 World Cup qualifier win over Estonia on Thursday.
Atletico Madrid forward Alexander Sorloth scored twice in two minutes between the 50th and 52nd minute in Oslo before captain Haaland then got in on the act with a double of his own in the space of six minutes.
The Manchester City man has netted 10 times in his last three appearances for the Scandinavian country and 30 in all competitions for club and country this term.
Haaland has scored 53 goals in 47 games for Norway since making his international debut at the age of 18 in 2019.
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The result all but secured Norway’s spot at the 2026 World Cup as Italy now need to overturn a deficit of 17 goals difference with just one game left – against Norway in Milan on Sunday.
Norway have qualified for the tournament just three times – in 1938, 1994, and most recently 1998 – while appearing at the Euros in 2000.
And Haaland wasted no time in rewarding his teammates’ achievement following their convincing victory over Estonia.
A video emerged showing Haaland being handed a hefty number of cheeseburgers alongside members of staff.
The Mail reported that he was collecting an estimated 70 cheeseburgers, with Fulham midfielder and Haaland’s Norway teammate Sander Berge joking that “it’s a strong performance from the captain”, after he was made aware of the striker’s burger-collecting exploits.
Despite being born in the English city of Leeds, Haaland is a proud Norwegian and explained how it was a “natural” choice to represent the country of his parents’ birth.
Speaking to TIME earlier this year, the forward explained how qualifying for the World Cup was “like another big nation winning it”.
“It would be the biggest party ever,” Haaland said.
“Scenes in Oslo would be incredible.”
He also offered his thoughts on the probability of Norway actually winning the tournament.
When asked if the co-hosts USMNT can win the tournament, he replied: “So there’s a 1% chance they’re going to do it. Norway has a 0.5.”
Despite Norway’s place at the finals being all but confirmed, only England, France, and Croatia have officially qualified for the tournament via UEFA qualification as of Saturday, November 15.
Topics: Erling Haaland, Norway, Football, Manchester City
Luke Davies