Norway team doctor Ola Sand has firmly rejected speculation that star striker Erling Haaland was unwell prior to Norway's World Cup quarter-final defeat to England. When asked by Norwegian outlet Dagbladet about the rumours, Sand responded with a single word: “No.”
Haaland Substituted During Extra Time
England emerged as 2-1 winners after extra time in the match, which was billed as a showdown between Harry Kane and Haaland. However, neither striker found the net. Instead, Jude Bellingham stole the show with a brace, scoring once in the first half of normal time and again in extra time to cancel out Andreas Schjelderup's early opener for Norway.
Haaland was kept quiet by the England defence throughout the game and was surprisingly substituted at half-time of extra time, with Norway still needing a goal. This led to suggestions that an underlying issue might have affected his performance.
TalkSPORT Pundit's Claim
TalkSPORT pundit Tony Cascarino revealed on the station's World Cup Weekender show that he had received a message at half-time claiming Haaland was unwell. “I was told last night, I got a message at half-time that apparently Erling Haaland wasn't well,” Cascarino said. “He was another one who was suffering from a sickness. So, obviously the manager has alluded to it saying fitness issues, and he clearly didn't look right. He's come off, and he didn't say an injury.”
Cascarino added: “He was unwell, yeah. He was unwell prior to the game. He doesn't touch the ball a lot anyway but I was surprised about how much energy he lacked as well. Him and [Alexander] Sorloth both looked like they didn't have the sort of drive.”
Illness in Both Camps
In the build-up to the game, there were concerns about illness in the Norway squad, with Jorgen Strand Larsen and Marcus Holmgren Pedersen reportedly suffering from a slight cough and fever, attributed to the air conditioning. Meanwhile, England midfielder Declan Rice had been battling a sickness bug, spending the days before the match in bed, according to England manager Thomas Tuchel.
Tuchel explained the decision to substitute Rice at half-time: “Knowing that Declan struggles after the last three days, he was most of the time in bed, I knew he could not survive the 90 minutes. I also knew there was the possibility of 120 so I didn't want to waste another change so I made the decision to take Declan out to avoid another change further on.”
England will hope Rice recovers in time to start the semi-final against Argentina on Wednesday night in Atlanta's air-conditioned stadium.
