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This resulted in Ødegaard scoring two of Haaland’s three goals in Norway’s sabotage of Romania.
In the victory interview with TV 2 after the game, Haaland claimed that he only had to pay tribute to the Real Madrid player.
– Finally he came to his senses and played with me, then it will be as it is, simply says Haaland with a big smile around his mouth.
Even Ødegaard, who admitted that he had yet to process the disappointment in Thursday’s game against Serbia, had to smile.
– It’s a luxury. We know that when we get the ball it’s just a matter of getting it from behind, he says when asked what it’s like to play in attack with a player like the Dortmund forward.
The star duo opened the ball
It was precisely the two that provided a dream start for Norway.
After just a quarter of an hour, Ødegaard sent Haaland out with a beautifully weighted forward pass. In a difficult position, the Dortmund forward managed to roll the ball into the far corner.
Despite the great Norwegian dominance, it would still be almost half an hour before the next goal was in goal behind Romanian goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu.
In turn, it was the result of a brilliant attacking game.
It finished with Birger Meling, who had taken the place of rival Haitam Aleesami for the occasion, running free within 16 meters of the guests. He looked up and found Alexander Sørlot on the back post. The forward was not wrong with an open goal. 2-0 was a fact.
Norway’s dominance continued after the break. The match was just over an hour old when Sander Berge fired from a distance. Through an opponent, the ball ended up with Ødegaard, who was surprisingly alone.
Selflessly, he chose to keep playing with Haaland without trying himself. Haaland thanked and bowed after widening what was the nail in the Romanian coffin.
Haaland should still get his treble. A quarter of an hour before full time, striker Sørloth played it face down. The power forward decided, turned around, accelerated away from the defenders and put the ball into the goal.
4-0 and the game definitely ended.
That’s why the national league is important
The big winner takes Norway straight to the top of their National League group. While Serbia’s match was a delayed playoff through the national league for the European Championship, Norway is also in the middle of the national league applying to the World Cup in 2022.
It is much more difficult to qualify directly for a World Cup final and therefore Norway’s results in the national league can be of great importance.
Where the European Championship has 24 places, only 13 European countries get a ticket to the World Cup. Ten of the spots go to the group winners in the World Cup qualifiers, which begin in March 2021.
The last three innings will be split after the World Cup qualifiers, and this is where this fall’s national league comes into play.
12 teams will fight for them Three VM–entries through a tiebreaker (semi-finals and finals). Your of these teams are the group runners-up of the World Cup qualifying rounds, while to the last teams are the best classified in the national league.
If Norway does not become number one or two in the rankings, then it is a back door to the World Cup through the national league.
Since Norway is at Tier B, the likelihood of getting an additional shot through the national league increases as the highest ranked nations (Tier A and B) have the highest chance of becoming number one or two in the World Cup qualifying rounds.
The qualifying groups for the World Cup will be drawn in December.