Erling Haaland’s the big cheese! Man City striker spotted collecting order of 70 CHEESEBURGERS for Norway stars after guiding his country to brink of World Cup with two goals in Estonia win
Two goals from Erling Haaland helped Norway all but secure qualification for their first World Cup in 28 years on Thursday night.
The Scandinavian nation increased their lead at the top of Group I to six points with a dominant 4-1 victory over fourth-placed Estonia.
It means the Norwegians’ place in the summer’s North American World Cup could be confirmed later tonight if Italy fail to beat Moldova. Yet even if the Azzurri are victorious, it’s almost impossible they’ll overhaul the group leaders’ 29 goal-difference with just three games left.
All four of Norway’s goals tonight at the national Ullevaal Stadium came during a 10-minute second half blitz.
Former Crystal Palace striker Alexander Sorloth bagged the first two on 50 and 52 minutes before Haaland continued his blistering form, netting his 29th and 30th goals of the season.
Estonia later pulled one back but it was a mere consolation as Norway edged closer to a place at next year’s American, Mexican and Canadian World Cup.
Erling Haaland scored two on Thursday night as Norway edged closer to securing their qualification for next summer’s World Cup
Norway haven’t qualified for a World Cup in 28 years but sit six points clear at the top of their qualifying group
Haaland’s now scored in each of his last four games for club and country, his latest Manchester City strike coming against Liverpool on the weekend.
The 25-year-old looks set to blitz his previous best season for the Cityzens of 52 goals in a single campaign and admitted before the clash with the Reds that he’s at the peak of his powers.
‘I feel this is the best version of myself,’ the 25-year-old said. ‘I’ve never felt better than now. ‘It’s been a good start, and I feel really good.
‘To keep sharp, I need to keep my mind in the right place. It’s staying in the zone and having that balance.’
Praising his manager, he added: ‘It’s Pep Guardiola – he’s a genius. There’s a reason why he’s been winning so much – because of his dedication and hard work.
‘Just look at everything he has done for this club and in his career – it’s fantastic. It’s about working together – we need to listen to him, he tells us what to do and how to play. We need to perform for him because he deserves it.’
Haaland’s stunning form has helped City climb the Premier League table after a concerning start to the season.
They now sit just four points adrift of league leaders Arsenal with perhaps favourable fixtures against Newcastle, Leeds, Fulham and Sunderland to come after the international break.
Haaland’s already bagged 30 goals this season and admits he’s at the peak of his powers
The Norwegian described Man City boss Pep Guardiola as a ‘genius’ earlier this week
Guardiola confidently claimed his City side are ‘back’ on the weekend after a difficult last campaign.
‘I have the feeling the energy back,’ the Spaniard said. ‘We are more unpredictable in the way we attack and defend and that is good that the opponents don’t know what we are going to do.
‘Last season it didn’t happen, we didn’t handle it well because apparently we didn’t have another target to fight. Nobody had done four titles in a row and we did it and we thought, “what’s next?”
‘I think the four Premier Leagues in a row affected us in a really bad way. It can be understandable a little bit. We tried to push each other but we were not able to do it.
‘Since the Club World Cup, I felt something different in general. It’s nice to still have the feeling that we are back in terms of many things.’
