Erling Haaland continued his incredible goalscoring streak with a hat-trick in the World Cup qualifier between Norway and Israel in Oslo.
Haaland’s night didn’t get off to the best of starts, with his sixth-minute penalty saved by Daniel Peretz, but he recovered more than enough to score 18 goals in his final nine games for club and country, despite Peretz denying him again after the kick was recovered.
The Manchester City striker scored five goals in his last international match against Moldova, scoring Norway’s second goal between two own goals from Anan Hariri and Idan Nahmias.
Haaland, one of the world’s best strikers, won his 46th cap and scored his 50th goal for his country, nodding in Antonio Nusa’s cross, with the in-form forward again scoring his third goal of the night.
Norway’s victory took them from sixth place in Group I to their sixth win and moved them closer to qualifying for the World Cup. After the match, Haaland said: “I’m not going to say too much about it. I’m just focused on winning the next game. That was my mindset the last game and it’s still the same.”
The striker was then sent back to Manchester by Norway coach Staare Solbakken, who then played a friendly against New Zealand, which ended 1-1.
The Norwegian Football Association said in a statement that “those players who had a particularly demanding schedule of matches have returned home.” “Alexander Soros, Julian Ryerson, Erling Braut Haaland, Fredrik Bjorkan. Felix Horn Maile leaves the team due to ankle pain.”
Haaland reacts to Norway’s 5-0 win over Israel
Haaland has never expressed his opinion on the conflict between Palestine and Israel, but eagle-eyed fans on social media believe they were spotted cheekily criticizing Israel on his Instagram Story, where he posted a selfie after a match against Rann Ben-Simon’s team.
The 25-year-old posed with the match ball, which included chants from City fans titled “Haaland (ha ha ha)”.
Israel’s participation in international sporting events has been controversial due to the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip, but a recent ceasefire agreement is expected to ease tensions in the region.