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Erling Haaland saved his blushes by scoring for Norway moments after having a penalty saved twice by Israel goalkeeper Daniel Peretz. The goal machine failed to convert from the spot initially, but Peretz was judged to have come off of his line and Haaland was allowed to retake. The striker fluffed his lines again and was made to look a fool, although that did not last long.
Haaland missed his spot-kicks when the scores were level at 0-0 after just six minutes and the Norwegian fans may have started to feel concerned that they would blow their chance of World Cup qualification. They needn’t have worried, for their giant forward would have the last laugh.
The hosts opened the scoring when Haaland bundled through on goal and knocked into Anan Khalaili who could do nothing as Peretz’s clearance clattered off him and into his own goal. Haaland then completed his redemption by firing into the bottom left corner with his weaker right-foot to double the lead after 27 minutes.
Israel then scored a second own-goal through Idan Nachmias to leave them 3-0 down to a rampant Norway, who look set to secure their spot at the 2026 World Cup. Haaland may have been on the wrong end of penalty humiliation, but the imperious forward can never be written off. His effort against Israel marked the tenth game in a row in which he has found the back of the net and few would count him out of adding to that run in the next few weeks.
Haaland’s start to the season has been nothing short of remarkable with the forward back at his very best. His goal on Saturday marked his 19th strike in just 12 games this season and took his total for Norway up to 49 from 46 caps.
By his own ridiculously high standards, the striker had
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