Erling Haaland claimed Italy defender Gianluca Mancini continued to grope his butt during Norway’s win over the Azzurri, but the unwanted attention only fueled the Manchester City striker as Norway qualified for the World Cup in style.
While Norway capped off a perfect qualifying campaign with four goals and two from their prolific forward, winning all eight games, the fixture was not without controversy. Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, Haaland’s City teammate, had no choice but to restrain Haaland.
Mancini grabbed the striker’s buttocks multiple times in an apparent attempt to wind Haaland up, infuriating the Norwegian international.
As Haaland revealed details of the conflict, he ultimately challenged his opponents with heated words exchanged between the duo.
“When we were one-on-one, he started touching my butt and I was like, ‘What are you doing?'” Haaland told TV2. Then I got a little fired up and said to him, “Thank you for motivating me, let’s do our best.” ”
City’s goal machine found the back of the net twice within two minutes, sealing Italy’s fate.
The game remained deadlocked at 1-1, with Haaland scoring an astonishing series of goals with 15 minutes remaining.
The opening goal was a powerful shot that crashed into the roof of the goal after fellow City player Oscar Bobb released him.
His second shot, which arrived less than 60 seconds later, was a tap-in from close range.
Wolves striker Jorgen Strand Larsen scored his fourth goal in the 93rd minute, putting the finishing touches on the rout at San Siro. “This is probably the worst result. The fact that we came here and won 4-1 is absolutely terrible and it shows that we are a bit unpredictable, which is a very good thing that everyone knows,” Haaland said.
This will be Norway’s first appearance at the World Cup since 1998, before Haaland was born. The striker scored an impressive 16 goals in the qualifying stages, helping him equal the record set by Poland’s Robert Lewandowski.
Haaland has found the back of the net in 11 consecutive World Cup qualifiers since 2021.
The Norwegian team went to Italy knowing that the chances of them scoring nine goals were very slim and would not secure an automatic spot, and they accomplished that mission with relative ease.
