According to Spanish newspaper Marca, striker Erling Haaland appeared upset and lost when Norway lost 0-1 to Spain and no longer has much hope of participating in Euro 2024.
Norway had to beat Spain in the seventh round of Group A of the Euro 2024 qualifiers on the evening of October 15 to keep their hopes of advancing to the next round alive. Despite playing at home at Ullevaal, Norway failed to create a surprise and suffered a 0-1 defeat with midfielder Gavi scoring the only goal.
This result has left Norway with no hope of reaching the Euros through qualifying, as they are currently third with 10 points, five points behind Spain and Scotland, but with only one match remaining against Scotland on November 19. Haaland and his teammates only hope of qualifying through the play-offs, based on the results of other groups and the 2022-2023 Nations League.
Haaland in a situation where two Spanish defenders blocked his dribble in the 0-1 loss to Spain in the Euro 2024 qualifiers on October 15. Photo: VG
In the defeat to Spain, main striker Haaland was disappointing, having almost no chances, except for a breakthrough in the middle at the end of the first half. He played the full 90 minutes, touched the ball 17 times, passed 63% accurately without any key passes, did not successfully dribble, won any duels, lost the ball six times and only had one shot on target.
After the match, Marca published an article with the headline "Haaland between a race without a destination and a meaningless war". The article commented that the Norwegian striker was uncomfortable, lost, unable to get past the Spanish defense, even trying to provoke and be aggressive with the opponent but also failed.
The defeat to Spain has put the players considered the golden generation of Norwegian football at risk of missing out on another major tournament. In addition to Haaland, Norway has Martin Odegaard - captain of Arsenal, along with many notable names such as Sander Berg (Burnley), Alexander Sorloth (Villarreal), Ola Solbakken (Olympiakos), Antonio Nusa (Club Brugge) and Oscar Bobb (Man City).
The last time Norway played in a major tournament was the 1998 World Cup. They finished above Morocco and Scotland and just behind Brazil. But in the round of 16, Norway lost 0-1 to Italy.
"Haaland is about to enter a familiar situation, which is a summer break earlier than expected. Despite having many quality players, Norway's participation in Euro 2024 in Germany is practically impossible," Marca commented on Norway's chances.
Haaland (No. 9) was disappointed after losing 0-1 to Spain on October 15. Photo: AFP
Not only in Norway, Haaland has shown poor form for Man City since the beginning of the season. The 23-year-old striker is still leading the list of top scorers with eight goals, but has not scored in the last four matches and has not opened his account in the two opening matches of the Champions League. In the two most recent matches losing 1-2 to Wolves and 0-1 to Arsenal in the Premier League, Haaland only had one shot on target and three decisive passes.
According to WhoScored , Haaland has missed nine good chances in the first eight rounds of the Premier League - the highest number in the league. Following Haaland in this number are Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) and Nicolas Jackson (Chelsea) with seven missed good chances each. In the 3-1 win over West Ham alone, Haaland had nine shots, missed five good chances before scoring in the 86th minute.
This form is in contrast to Haaland's 52 goals in 53 matches in all competitions last season, helping Man City win a historic treble of the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.
Hong Duy
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