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Norway head coach Solbakken says Senegal win down to 'on fire' Haaland

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Reuters

Published 11 hours ago

Norway coach Stale Solbakken paid tribute to Erling Haaland after the striker netted ⁠his second double of the World Cup in a 3-2 Group I victory over Senegal on Monda to fire his side into ‌the last 32, saying Norway would do all they could to help him win ‌the Golden Boot as the tournament's top scorer.

[p]Captain [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/odegaard-martin/ID32TGhp/"]Martin Odegaard[/a] ‌teed up [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/haaland-erling/UmV9iQmE/"]Haaland[/a] to score his first goal in the 48th minute, and ‌he added a second with a deft finish to make ‌it 3-1, but the giant goal-poacher also let a number of other chances go begging, and when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/senegal/hOIsJLJr/"]Senegal[/a] pulled a goal back late on, it ensured a ‌nervy finish.[/p][p][b]"Well, I mean, today he did miss ⁠an open goal, and he ‌could even have scored even four,"[/b] [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/solbakken-stale/pxok8eTM/"]Solbakken[/a] joked.[/p][p]"No, I mean, he is the ​best striker - he is not playing for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/france/QkGeVG1n/"]France[/a] or [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/argentina/f9OppQjp/"]Argentina[/a], he scores for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/norway/8rP6JO0H/"]Norway[/a]. He's scored four goals now, two ​braces on the biggest stage."[/p][image alt="World Cup top goalscorers" id="d452dd60-dc60-47aa-9ac9-b3964ef05516" credit-line="REUTERS/John Sibley TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY / StatsPerform via Opta" guid="289ce7c8-7f4d-4631-b7ef-90033f69069b" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]The Norwegians are second in the group with six points, behind France on goal difference ahead of the final ⁠game between the two ​on Friday, and though the French also boast a red-hot striker in [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mbappe-kylian/Wn6E2SED/"]Kylian Mbappe[/a], Solbakken is backing his side to help Haaland.[/p][p][b]"It's easier to win the Golden Boot when you play for France and Argentina, but ‌we'll try to give Erling more games, and more help also in the next games. So he's on fire and I'm very happy for him that he can score on the biggest stage,[/b]" Solbakken said.[/p][infobox id="4ccc1b10-d68f-4c97-bcf4-5e613c17c2e3" /][h2]Norway into last 32[/h2][p]Appearing at their first World Cup since 1998, the win over Senegal guaranteed that Norway will make it out of the group, and the team and coaches celebrated by indulging in the "row" chant made famous by their fans at the tournament.[/p][p]With players visibly ‌wilting in the second half, Solbakken hinted that he might rotate his ​squad ahead of the France game.[/p][p][b]"We haven't started that planning (for ‌France) yet, so now we will get back to our camp and make good restitution because we need that after a very tough game, and there will be other players who play that game,"[/b] he said.[/p][p]Haaland himself chose to talk up France.[/p][p][b]"I don’t ⁠care, we are through - they’ll ⁠probably beat us and go ‌on and win the whole tournament," [/b]he joked.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/norway-8rP6JO0H/senegal-hOIsJLJr/?mid=xSUJLPV8"]Check out the full match summary here[/a][/b].[/p]

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