Tag: Haaland

Norway qualified for the 2026 World Cup on Sunday after a 4-1 win away to Italy in their final qualifying match, condemning the hosts, who have missed out on the last two editions of the tournament, to the playoffs.

Norway ended the qualifying campaign with a perfect record of eight wins, finishing six points ahead of four-times World Cup winners Italy, who will compete in the playoffs for the third consecutive occasion.

Needing a nine-goal win because of Norway’s superior goal difference, the Italians came out full of aggression and made the early breakthrough just after the 10-minute mark, as Francesco Pio Esposito swept in a close-range finish.

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The hosts were dominant until the last minutes of the first half and went close to a second goal several times with Norway having only a half-chance when a shot from Antonio Nusa went over the bar.

However, it was a completely different Norway in the second half and Nusa equalised in the 63rd minute with a left-foot finish from inside the box.

With Norway in control in the closing stages, Italy paid the price for leaving Erling Haaland unmarked in the box in the 78^th  minute as he met a cross and volleyed home with ease.

Haaland then wrapped up the match with a second goal a minute later, taking his tally for the campaign to 16.

Jorgen Strand Larsen scored the fourth in stoppage time for the visitors, who showed they would be no pushovers at next year’s tournament.

Erling Haaland may be on a record-breaking scoring pace, but Manchester City’s prized striker insists he is focusing on team success as he prepares to face his former club Borussia Dortmund in today’s Champions League clash.

The 25-year-old Norwegian has netted 26 goals in just 16 appearances for club and country this season, putting him on track to surpass his own personal best of 57 goals in a single campaign.

“I am in a good way (to breaking that) but I don’t think of this. We need to focus on tomorrow and that’s how my brain works. I need to think in the present,” he said at a press conference.

Does he think Alan Shearer’s Premier League scoring record of 260 goals is within reach?

“I have to ignore (records),” Haaland reiterated. “Thinking about records I can break is the last thing on my mind, I try to help the team win football games. That is my main focus.”

He also scoffed at comparisons to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, saying “no one can get close to those two.”

He similarly shrugged off manager Pep Guardiola’s compliments about how humble he is.

“I am a Norwegian guy and I shouldn’t think I am something because I am scoring goals,” he said. “I am just Erling and this is something that will never change.”

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Haaland is also keen to take Norway into the 2026 World Cup. They last qualified in 1998, two years before he was born. Norway top Group I of qualifying and a win against Estonia on November 13 could secure them a berth.

“There’s big, big few games for us,” he said of the international fixtures. “The main goal of my career, (is) to take Norway to World Cup and now I have a good chance to do it. So, it’s about taking the chances.”

The striker also spoke candidly about how becoming a dad last December has brought him more “balance.”

“Suddenly there’s someone waking you up every morning,” Haaland said. “It got me even more focused, because I can switch off even more; you need the balance between focusing and doing the completely opposite, not focusing at all.”

Guardiola, who gave his squad the day off from training on Tuesday, emphasised the importance of managing the workload of players such as Haaland.

“I always try to organise the team to allow him to run as less as possible. He is so big and cannot play 90 minutes every three days,” Guardiola said.

“I always think of (playing) every three days and manage to control the ball through the passes and can handle the game the way you want to – you survive. Less injuries also.”

City are seventh in the Champions League table with seven points after three games in the single-league format.

England sent out a warning to their World Cup rivals with a brilliant 5-0 thrashing of Serbia in qualifying on Tuesday, while Erling Haaland scored five as Norway emphatically maintained their 100-percent record.

Elsewhere in Europe, Portugal and France overturned deficits to make it back-to-back wins to open their bids to reach next year’s tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

The quality of Thomas Tuchel’s England was questioned after a laborious 2-0 win over Andorra at Villa Park on Saturday, but they produced a resounding answer.

 “The players did excellent. The credit goes to them, they did amazing. That’s the bar,” manager Tuchel told ITV Sport.

England dominated the early stages in Belgrade and took the lead in the 33^rd  minute when Harry Kane headed home his 74^th  international goal from a Declan Rice corner.

The visitors doubled their advantage two minutes later, as Noni Madueke raced onto an excellent flick-on from Morgan Rogers, kept his composure and dinked the ball beyond Serbia goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic.

Seven minutes into the second half, Ezri Konsa pounced on a loose ball after a free-kick to score his first international goal.

Another Rice set-piece provided England’s fourth, as Marc Guehi slid to meet his free-kick, given for the foul on Kane by Nikola Milenkovic which earned the Nottingham Forest centre-back a straight red card.

Substitute Marcus Rashford rounded off a perfect night for his team with a late spot-kick.

England could qualify for an eighth-successive World Cup in their next Group K game when they visit Latvia next month.

The other match in the group saw Albania leapfrog Serbia into second place, edging out Latvia 1-0 in Tirana.

Norway produced the perfect response to second-placed Italy’s dramatic 5-4 victory over Israel on Monday with a 11-1 thumping of Moldova to make it five wins from five in Group I.

Haaland was the star of the show, scoring a first-half hat-trick before nodding in his fourth goal not long after the restart.

Martin Odegaard grabbed a goal and two assists. Felix Myhre found the net early on after being picked out by Haaland.

Rangers midfielder Thelo Aasgaard came off the bench to add a seventh, although Moldova did grab themselves a consolation with a Leo Ostigard own goal, only for Aasgaard to score again.

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Haaland stepped aside when Norway were awarded a penalty shortly afterwards, allowing the 23-year-old Aasgaard to complete an 11-minute hat-trick.

There were further goals for Haaland and Aasgaard as Moldova crumbled.

Norway, who downed four-time world champions Italy earlier in qualifying and are bidding to qualify for a first World Cup since 1998, moved six points clear of the Azzurri having played a game more.

Iceland made a dream start at the Parc des Princes as Arni Gudjohnsen, son of former Chelsea striker Eidur and playing alongside younger brother Daniel, put the away team ahead against France in the 21st minute.

France equalised on the stroke of half-time through a Kylian Mbappe penalty.

Mbappe turned provider as Didier Deschamps’ men moved in front, racing onto Aurelien Tchouameni’s ball over the top before squaring for Bradley Barcola to tap into an empty net.

Les Bleus clung on for a 2-1 success despite Tchouameni’s sending off and a late effort from Arni Gudjohnsen that was disallowed by VAR.

France, World Cup runners-up in 2022, sit three points clear of Iceland in Group D, with Ukraine and Azerbaijan two points further adrift after playing out a 1-1 draw in Baku.

 “We were punished for our only mistake. We created lots of chances but we are capable of doing better,” said Deschamps.

Portugal beat Hungary

Portugal clinched a 3-2 win over Hungary at the Puskas Arena, backing up their opening Group F victory, 5-0 against Armenia last week.

Barnabas Varga gave the home side the lead before Bernardo Silva’s leveller for Portugal.

Cristiano Ronaldo netted a record-extending 141st international goal with a spot-kick just before the hour.

Varga thought he had grabbed a point for Hungary, only for Joao Cancelo to snatch all three for Portugal with four minutes left.

 “I loved the attitude and focus – we just needed to control the game and take it where we wanted,” said Portugal coach Roberto Martinez.

Hungary slipped to third in the standings behind Armenia who beat Ireland 2-1.

Manchester City have confirmed that Erling Haaland has signed an extraordinary new nine-and-a-half year contract, which will keep him at the Etihad until the summer of 2034.

The 24-year-old’s existing terms were due to expire in the summer of 2027 and were understood to have included a release clause of around £175m, putting Real Madrid on red alert for a future move.

However, Los Blancos’ bid to lure Haaland away from the Etihad is now in tatters thanks to one of the most astonishing contracts in professional football, which will keep the Scandinavian in Manchester until just before his 34th  birthday.

Haaland is also now said to be earning the highest-ever salary for a Premier League player, and while the former Borussia Dortmund man’s renewal still includes a release clause, it is supposedly set at an unspecified ‘very high’ amount.

“I am really happy to have signed my new contract and to be able to look forward to spending even more time at this great Club,” Haaland told the official Man City website. “Manchester City is a special Club, full of fantastic people with amazing supporters and it’s the type of environment that helps bring the best out of everybody.

“I also want to thank Pep, his coaching staff, my teammates and everyone at the Club as they have all helped me so much in the past couple of years. They have made this such a special place to be and now I am City no matter what.

“I want to keep developing, keep working to get better and look to do my best to try and help us achieve more success going forward.”

Haaland followed in the footsteps of his father Alf-Inge Haaland when he joined Man City from Borussia Dortmund in 2022, and just one year later, he broke the record for the most goals scored in a Premier League season with an unprecedented 36 in 35 games.

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After driving City to a tremendous treble that year, the 24-year-old retained the Golden Boot in the 2023-24 season as City successfully defended their title, and despite the Citizens’ troubles in the 2024-25 campaign, he boasts a terrific 21 strikes from 28 matches in all tournaments.

All in all, Haaland has had a direct hand in a remarkable 126 goals in 126 games for Man City – 111 of his own and 15 assists – and in September, he notched his 100th City goal in just 105 games, matching the one-club European record set by Cristiano Ronaldo.

“Everyone at the Club is absolutely delighted that Erling has signed his new contract. The fact he is signed for so long demonstrates our commitment to him as a player, and his love of this club,” director Txiki Begiristain added.

“He has made an incredible impact already in his time here and his amazing numbers and records speak for themselves. But in addition to his outstanding natural talent and ability, Erling’s dedication, professionalism, humility and desire to keep getting better sum up what we all strive to achieve at Manchester City.

“He is one of the finest strikers in world football, but Erling is still very young and will only continue to improve working under Pep and his coaching team. If he works hard, which I know he will, he will create an incredible legacy at this football club. Now he can focus on his game and continuing to play a huge part in helping us try to achieve even more success.”

What records could Haaland break after incredible Man City renewal?

In truth, there should never have been any serious doubts about where Haaland’s long-term future lay, even if City’s fellow European powerhouses were always going to cast a watchful eye over his contract situation.

However, it will now take an eye-watering, potentially world-record sum to lure the Norwegian away from the Etihad, where if he stays for the full duration of his contract, he will continue to overhaul legends at the top of various charts.

The most obvious record for Haaland to break is the all-time Premier League goals tally of 260 held by Alan Shearer; he currently has 79 strikes from 87 matches, averaging 0.90 goals per game in England’s top flight.

To reach the unrivalled 261 mark, Haaland would need to play 290 Premier League games if he continues to score at his current rate, meaning that he could be on track to break the record within six or seven seasons.

Real Madrid ‘willing to smash their transfer record’ for signing that would see them complete football

Real Madrid are reportedly preparing to submit a huge bid to break their transfer record and create a super team that could rival the Galacticos.

Madrid already boast one of, if not the, greatest team in world football at the moment with several of the sport’s biggest players all lining up for Los Blancos.

Last season, the La Liga giants enjoyed the talents of English superstar Jude Bellingham who came to the club in the previous summer for a reported fee of €113.00million, the second biggest signing in the club’s history behind Eden Hazard’s €120.8m move in 2019.

And now, the Spanish club are reportedly prepared to smash their transfer record as they aim to tempt a player to the club with a massive bid that would undoubtedly create one of the strongest teams in the history of football.

According to Spanish outlet Fichajes, Real Madrid are willing to offer a breath-taking €200m to bring Manchester City striker Erling Haaland to the club.

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The news comes after several outlets have reported that Brazilian pair Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr could be set to leave Madrid in the near future.

And if this was to be the case, Florentino Perez, Real’s president, plans to fill the massive void that would be left by the duo leaving with the statement signing of Haaland, who remains the prime target.

While the move would no doubt shock fans, the Spanish outlet report that it is perhaps closer than many would think as Haaland has expressed his hopes to City of taking new challenges elsewhere.

Therefore, a chance to move to perhaps the biggest club in Europe and play alongside some of the very best in the sport, would no doubt be a tempting option for the 24-year-old.

And with his current deal with the Premier League side set to expire in 2027, City may want to begin negotiating the transfer as soon as possible if they feel certain that the Norwegian striker will not extend his stay at the Etihad.

Should Haaland make the move to Madrid, he will play alongside long-term rival Kylian Mbappe, who joined his boyhood club over the summer on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain.