Erling Haaland’s appearance against Portugal came to an end after just over 60 minutes. He limped off the pitch, causing concern amongst Manchester City fans – a concern that his national team manager was able to allay afterwards.
It was a moment of panic for all supporters of Norway or Manchester City: during Portugal’s 2–1 victory over the Scandinavians, Erling Haaland had to leave the pitch after just over an hour. He had been limping beforehand, had even gestured to ask to be substituted, and had been given a comforting hug by national coach Staale Solbakken as he came off. All the signs pointed to an injury.
However, Solbakken subsequently ruled out this possibility. Speaking to the Norwegian daily newspaper *Dagbladet*, he explained that it had been a planned move, after Haaland had played the full 90 minutes in all three previous international matches: “He’d played two 90-minute matches against Denmark and Portugal and was already exhausted against Wales. So we had an open discussion in which we went through all the options.”
Haaland had rejected one of these options – coming on as a substitute in the second half. “That was on the table,” said Solbakken, “but he didn’t feel comfortable with it.” Which is why the former Dortmund player started the match and, as his energy began to run low, signalled to the bench. Just as he went on to do. Which is why, despite the defeat, at least Solbakken’s individual plan paid off: “He gave us 60 good minutes in today’s match.”
His place in the Liverpool line-up is unlikely to be in jeopardy
This realisation is likely to come as a relief, particularly in Manchester. After Haaland was substituted, concerns quickly spread that the striker might miss at least the upcoming league match against Liverpool on Sunday. According to Solbakken’s comments, however, this should not be an issue.
And it is also good news for the Norwegians themselves that their star player is not injured. After all, everything is still at stake for the World Cup surprise package in the Nations League. Whilst Portugal have already pulled away at the top of the table and are through to the quarter-finals, the battle for second to fourth place remains exciting despite Norway’s three consecutive defeats.
