Erling Haaland endured a nightmare start for Norway in their World Cup qualifier against Israel on Saturday, missing two penalties before recovering to score a hat-trick in a 4-1 victory.
The Manchester City striker was handed a spot-kick in the fifth minute after a foul by Dan Biton. His initial effort was saved by goalkeeper Daniel Peretz, but Polish referee Szymon Marciniak ordered a retake after ruling Peretz had left his line early. Haaland's second attempt was also saved by Peretz.
Despite the early setback, Norway took the lead in the 18th minute through Anan Khalaili, before Haaland made amends by scoring just before the half-hour mark. He added two more goals in the second half to complete his hat-trick.
Norway now sit top of Group I with 18 points from six games, six points ahead of Italy and Israel. They could secure qualification for the World Cup for the first time since 1998 if Italy drop points against Estonia or Israel.
Haaland has now scored 51 goals in 46 matches for Norway since 2020, reaching the 50-goal milestone faster than Harry Kane, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe.
