DALLAS — Norway coach Stale Solbakken described Erling Haaland as the “greatest goalscorer in the world and I wouldn’t swap him for anybody” after the Manchester City forward’s late winner against Ivory Coast sealed a World Cup round-of-16 clash against Brazil.
Haaland, 25, took his World Cup tally to five goals in three games, moving him one behind Lionel Messi in the race for the tournament Golden Boot.
His winning goal for a 2-1 victory in Dallas extended his run of scoring in all of Norway’s competitive games dating back to October 2024 — a sequence that has resulted him in scoring 25 goals in 13 games. And Solbakken said there is nobody better in the world game than Haaland at scoring goals.
“He is the greatest goal scorer in the world, there is no doubt about that,” Solbakken told reporters.
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“Today he didn’t have much involvement, but he had a big chance in the first half and then scored the goal in the game. He is out of this world.
“He brings calm and a coldness to the team when you have a player like him.
“I actually think he is very underrated in terms of holding the ball up. He didn’t lose the ball once today, and that brings so much to the team.
“I know he feels proud to be part of this, playing for his country, but he also knows this is a team that works together and he needs service from his teammates.
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“To score five goals in three games at a World Cup for a little country like Norway is amazing, so all credit to him.
“And no, I wouldn’t swap him for anyone.”
Norway face Brazil on Sunday having never previously lost to the five-time World Cup winners in four previous meetings. But Solbakken said he would not focus on Brazil until the dust has settled on the win against Ivory Coast — Norway’s first ever knockout win at the World Cup.
“You win a match in the KO phase of a top tournament against a major team — historians are better at ranking this than I am,” Solbakken said.
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“But it’s the first time Norway has a won a KO game, and that is a historic performance for us.
“We will talk about Brazil later and let that rest for today, though. I wouldn’t like to go into analyzing new matches.
“We know that they are the favorites, but it is not about Brazil today, it is about us and the Ivory Coast.”
