Erling Haaland scored twice as Norway began their Uefa Nations League campaign with an entertaining 3-2 victory over Denmark in Oslo.
The Manchester City forward carried his goalscoring form into his first international appearance since Norway’s historic World Cup run, where he scored seven goals before his country were knocked out by England in the quarter-finals.
Norway made a strong start against Denmark, with Fulham forward Oscar Bobb opening the scoring. Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard supplied the pass before Bobb produced a composed finish, curling the ball into the far corner.
Haaland then added Norway’s second four minutes later following impressive work from Antonio Nusa. The winger weaved his way into the penalty area before threading a pass towards Haaland, who struck first time to beat Denmark goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen.
The goals kept coming during a frantic spell, with three scored inside just 11 minutes. Brentford midfielder Mikkel Damsgaard brought Denmark back into the contest with a superb free-kick from 25 yards.
Denmark continued their fightback after the break and eventually drew level on the hour mark. Former Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund found the net to make it 2-2 and leave the Nations League opener finely balanced.
However, Haaland proved decisive once again.
With 74 minutes played, Norway worked a corner into the penalty area, where the striker was waiting to finish powerfully for his second goal of the night. The strike restored Norway’s advantage at 3-2 and ultimately secured all three points for the hosts.
Norway faced one final complication in stoppage time when substitute David Moller Wolfe received his second yellow card and was sent off. Denmark were unable to take advantage of the late dismissal, however, as Norway held on for victory.
The result puts Norway at the top of League A Group 4 after the opening round of matches. Portugal also began their campaign with a victory, defeating Wales 1-0 in the other game in the group.
For Haaland, the two-goal performance provided another productive international appearance following his seven-goal World Cup campaign and gave Norway a winning start to their Nations League campaign.
