Erling Haaland: Hat-Trick Despite Missed Penalties
Manchester City star Erling Haaland put on a memorable performance for Norway despite an unusual start. In the World Cup qualifying match against Israel, Haaland missed two penalties, but managed to score a hat-trick, contributing to his team’s 5-0 victory.The first penalty, taken by Haaland, was saved by Israeli goalkeeper Daniel Peretz. However, the referee ordered the penalty to be retaken because Peretz moved forward. In the second attempt, Haaland tried a different shot, but Peretz guessed the direction and again stopped the ball.
Despite the misses from the penalty spot, Haaland recovered and scored a goal with a powerful shot after a pass from Alexander Sørloth. This was his tenth goal in the qualifying campaign. Haaland continued his goalscoring streak, scoring two more goals to complete his hat-trick and raise his tally to 12 goals, the most in the UEFA rankings. In addition to his performance with the national team, Haaland has had an outstanding season with Manchester City, scoring 12 goals in nine matches and reaching a total of 136 goals in 155 games with the club. With this hat-trick, Haaland consolidated his position as Norway’s all-time top scorer, reaching 51 goals in his international career. He achieved this feat in just 46 matches, surpassing figures like Harry Kane, Neymar, Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo in speed to reach 50 goals. The victory keeps Norway undefeated in the standings, with six wins in six matches. They lead Group I by nine points over Italy. Norway has not participated in a World Cup since 1998. Before the match in Oslo, pro-Palestinian protests took place. The police formed a line near the stadium. The stadium had an attendance of between 22,000 and 23,000 spectators, with a reduced capacity due to security measures.
