Norway manager Stale Solbakken has revealed that he had no option but to substitute star striker Erling Haaland during extra-time of their World Cup quarter-final against England, citing the Manchester City forward's complete exhaustion after 105 minutes in the Miami heat.
Haaland Substituted Despite Needing a Goal
To the surprise of many, Haaland did not reappear for the second period of extra-time as Norway's maiden World Cup quarter-final ended in defeat at the Miami Stadium on Saturday night. Having entered the match with seven World Cup 2026 goals to his name, Haaland was expected to lead Norway's offensive push to force a penalty shootout. However, the 25-year-old was replaced during the half-time interval of extra-time, with Crystal Palace's Jorgen Strand Larsen taking his place and making little impact in the final 15 minutes.
Speaking after the game, Solbakken allayed fears that Haaland had sustained an injury and explained the decision: "It was not tough to take Erling Haaland off, I should have done it ten minutes earlier as he was finished," Solbakken told reporters. "He's had a great World Cup, scoring seven goals but he used up all of his energy."
Haaland's Performance and Missed Chances
Haaland had a couple of opportunities to draw level with Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi in the World Cup 2026 Golden Boot race but saw two relatively weak headers comfortably saved by England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. Additionally, a push on Elliot Anderson cost Norway the chance to retake the lead in the 55th minute when Torbjorn Heggem's header was disallowed after VAR advised referee Clement Turpin to review the incident.
Captain Odegaard Reflects on Defeat
Discussing the loss to England, who progressed thanks to Jude Bellingham's brace, Norway captain Martin Odegaard said: "It's difficult. I feel that we were so close. We did what we could, maybe we were in a low block in the first half but they didn't do anything and we got ahead. Then we conceded two easy goals and didn't get much help from the referee. The margins went against us and we had a bit of bad luck."
Odegaard added: "But it's been fantastic, it's been a fairytale. We can be proud of ourselves. The whole world is talking about us, a quarter-final in the World Cup is a huge achievement. Now we have a taste of it."
