ARLINGTON, TX — It was a quiet game for Erling Haaland until it wasn’t.
His remarkable scoring streak in official matches with the national team looked set to be snapped at a dozen contests. Norway found a goal elsewhere, but conceding to the Ivory Coast in the 74th minute meant they’d need another goal. There was no question who it would come from.
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“I think he’s the greatest goalscorer in the world. I think there’s no doubt about that,” Norway manager Ståle Solbakken said. “Today he wasn’t that involved, but always if you get that chance, he scored the winning goal again. That’s his output for the national team. He brings calmness to the team when you have a player like him.”
After a soft start, Haaland roared, tapping in a pass from Patrick Berg in the 86th minute to give Norway the 2-1 victory over Les Elephants. Dallas Stadium roared back, then ro’ed after, with the majority of the 69,000-plus fans in the venue Tuesday dressed in red.
How many of them traveled from Norway and how many were neutrals won over by Haaland’s brilliance and a story that has captivated hearts across the country isn’t clear. What is clear is this is a high point for Norwegian soccer.
It could go even higher. Norway now heads into a round of 16 contest with Brazil, with echoes of the team’s previous top moment, a group stage win over Brazil in 1998 when Solbakken said the soccer was “more physical” and less about the flowing attacking play Norway can now put on the field, not just with Haaland and Martin Ødegaard but with Antonio Nusa, Alexander Sørloth and Oscar Bobb.
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But, for now, Norway doesn’t want to think about any of that.
“I think what we’re going to think about now is to enjoy the win today, to be really happy and proud of ourselves,” Ødegaard said after the match.
What will that look like? Rather than getting out on the town, center back Kristoffer Ajer said it will be a far more low-key celebration at the team’s base camp in North Carolina. “We’re going to go to the hotel, eat a good meal and we’re lucky enough to have a pool in the hotel so we’re going to spend some time in there together.”
There is plenty to enjoy, even if it’s just hijinks with pool noodles.
This is the first time Norway ever has won a knockout match, something not lost on this generation of players, many of whom grew up hearing about the ’98 team’s achievements but never seeing Norway have success first-hand.
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“To go through to another round is unbelievable,” Ødegaard said. “Brazil is going to be a tough game, but in football everything is possible, but we’re going to give it a good try.
“Hopefully we can keep dreaming and keep believing and keep like we did, but let’s prepare well and enjoy the moment.”
The dreams of Norway seem to sit at the feet of Haaland. Any time a player can produce a goal from nothing like he does, from the smallest chance, from a close-down only he has the speed and physicality to pull off, from being ready for the ball to come to him in the goalmouth as he did Tuesday, it is a great equalizer in soccer.
“I’m very happy he’s Norwegian,” Ajer said. “It’s brilliant he keeps scoring.”
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It certainly is. Quite simply, if he is quiet for an entire match, Norway’s dreams will be dashed. If he roars again against Brazil, who knows just how long Norway’s Vikings can continue marauding their way through the World Cup field.
For now, they’re content to enjoy the plunder of a first win with a splash in the pool and a night resting well in the knowledge that perhaps the greatest scorer in the world, one who is rarely kept quiet, is from their small country.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Erling Haaland states case as the ‘greatest goalscorer in the world’
