White cap screwed on his head, Erling Haaland celebrated the goals of the Norway team against Sweden in the stands of the Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo, during a preparation match for the 2026 World Cup, Monday evening. The Rouge, Blanc, Bleu (Rode, Hvite, Bla in the original version) won 3-1.
Aligned at the forefront in the absence of Haaland, Jorgen Strand Larsen scored a double (9th and 37th), notably on a cross-shot from Julian Ryerson, the right side of Dortmund author of 18 assists with his club. Antonio Nusa from RB Leipzig also shook the net with a nice sequence (18th) before the Swedish goal in the second half from Alexander Isak (76th).
On the eve of the match, Norwegian coach Stale Solbakken announced the withdrawal of his two key players Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard to allow them to continue their individual preparation. “It’s better this way”the Norwegian technician only explained about his invaluable scorer, implying that the player was going to play the second friendly match, Sunday against Morocco, in the suburbs of New York (in the Red Bulls stadium).
Haaland already out with Man City
The Norwegian press therefore remains in the dark while Haaland had already been spared by Pep Guardiola during the last day of the Premier League against Aston Villa, the 25-year-old striker already being assured of finishing as the championship’s top scorer with his 27 goals (38 in total). The Spanish technician did not want to go into details concerning his players remaining in the stands.
The Norwegians are already flying to the United States when they will face Iraq on June 16, then Senegal and especially the French team, on June 26, during the third day of the group stage. First place in the group could be fought over between star captains Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland.
