Erling Haaland asked to be substituted during Norway’s loss to Portugal on Sunday – now his national teammates and the national team manager are speaking out.
The Manchester City superstar signalled to the bench that he should be taken off, and was replaced by Crystal Palace’s Jørgen Strand Larsen after 67 minutes.
Liverpool face fierce battle from Manchester United to secure £90m Van Dijk replacement
The game was even when a brilliant Kristoffer Ajer gave the away team the lead, before João Cancelo equalised for the hosts in Porto.
After Haaland was substituted, Gonçalo Ramos scored the winning goal for Portugal after 79 minutes, and Jorge Jesú’s side won all four games during the international break – despite Cristiano Ronaldo leaving the camp after one game.
Much of the focus was on Haaland after the game, as he limped off the pitch and created fears of an injury.
Ståle Solbakken seemed to downplay the concerns, saying that the striker was only scheduled to play around an hour. It has been a very busy period, with four international matches in 11 days, and Haaland played 90 minutes of the first three games.
Solbakken told TV2: “There are a lot of players who are down in the basement. [Sander] Berge and [Martin] Ødegaard are kind of down there digging.
“Erling dug for a long time. I think he took a lot of beatings and was a very good point guard. We were hoping for 60, but he managed 65. There are a lot of positives.”
Arsenal captain Martin Ødegaard played 90 minutes in all four games over the last two weeks – as did Fulham’s Sander Berge.
Genoa defender Leo Østigård said his superstar teammate is “only human” and needed a break after playing so many games for club and country.
“It’s clear that you want him on the pitch for as long as possible. But he plays an incredible number of games, and he’s a human being too,” Østigård said of Haaland.
“Erling is one of the best at turning things on and off. That’s also part of what makes him so fantastic. But the holiday hasn’t been the longest, and like I said, he’s only human. It’s hard to be at your best in every game. He would probably like a slightly longer holiday.”
Bodø/Glimt midfielder Patrick Berg said it was not surprising that even Haaland’s “strength eventually came to an end” in Portugal.
“Of course, we know that he is the best goalscorer in the world, and probably the one who scores most often for us. We would love to have him on the pitch, but if it stops, it stops our energy,” Berg said.
“He’s played all three games before this one, so it’s not too surprising that his powers finally came to an end.”
Manchester City are back in action on Sunday with an away game against Liverpool at Anfield in the Premier League, and Haaland hopes to be ready for that game.
Norway had an eventful international break, beating Denmark 3-2, but then losing twice to Wales and Portugal.
“I’m fully aware that it’s the results that count,” Solbakken said. “Three losses in a row is obviously not good enough. But if you look behind the results, the Portugal games are good. And the same in the other two games on a regular basis.”
“MADDEN”: A high-octane biographical sports drama starring Nicolas Cage and Christian Bale
