Haaland Ecstatic Following Italy’s Defeat: ‘I Want to Play in a World Cup’

Erling Braut Haaland, the Manchester City forward, expressed his views following Norway’s impressive 3-0 victory against Italy, asserting that under Stale Solbakken’s guidance, the team has reached a standard that merits participation in a World Cup.

Norway has been absent from a major tournament for a staggering 25 years, but they appear poised for a change, having started their qualifying campaign in Group I with a flawless record from their initial three matches, competing alongside Israel, Italy, Estonia, and Moldova.

In a significant stride towards overcoming their poor qualifying history, Norway triumphed over Italy at Ullevaal, and Haaland believes there is a bright future ahead for the once underperforming Scandinavian side.

“We are simply too good not to be involved in final tournaments. I need to compete in both the World Cup and the European Championships. No pressure, but I have to,” Haaland told NRK.

The standout player of the match was 20-year-old Antonio Nusa, who assisted the first goal scored by Göran Sorloth before netting a goal himself. “I don’t even know what to say, it was an incredible night, just unbelievable,” he remarked.

“Look around you; it’s simply amazing to play at Ullevaal, and I love it. Today’s match was great. I was in form. There’s still a long journey ahead, but we are definitely on the right path,” he added.

Teammate Sorloth, now with Atletico Madrid, echoed the sentiment that the night will be etched in Norway’s memory for years to come.

Sorloth described the atmosphere at Ullevaal as “absolutely fantastic”.

“I always knew we had it in us to achieve results like this. We had struggled to demonstrate it, so it feels immensely gratifying to finally do so,” said Sorloth.

“I could hardly believe we were leading 3-0 against such a strong football nation at half-time. Our first half was nearly perfect, considering the opponent; we got the right players involved. The whole team performed incredibly well,” Sorloth reflected.

Norway’s next match in the World Cup qualifiers is against Estonia in Tallinn on Monday night.