New Jersey, June 23: Norway head coach Stale Solbakken praised Erling Haaland after the striker scored twice in a 3-2 victory over Senegal on Tuesday, but said he would make changes for his side's final World Cup group match against France.
Haaland has scored four goals in Norway's opening two matches, having also netted a brace in its 4-1 win over Iraq."He missed an open goal today, so he could have scored even more. He is one of the best strikers in the world. He is not playing for France or Argentina. He is scoring goals for Norway," Solbakken said after the match as quoted by Xinhua.
Solbakken described the final 10 minutes as among the longest of his life, with several Norwegian players struggling physically."Four or five of our players had cramps. For a period, we were effectively playing with only nine or 10 players, and there was also a clearance off the line. It was a nightmare," he said.The Norway coach said his team had controlled much of the match, but lost its grip after Senegal reduced the deficit to 3-2."That was the only period of the game when I felt we did not have control," he said. "We could not stop the crosses, and we were suffering physically," he added.Despite the nervy finish, Solbakken was satisfied with Norway's overall display against a Senegal side he described as one of Africa's strongest teams. (IANS)