Haaland scores hat trick in World Cup qualifier

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Haaland

Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB
Erling Braut Haaland celebrates after scoring his first goal that gave Norway a 2-0 lead en route to a 5-1 win over Gibraltar in a World Cup game on Sept. 7 at Ullevål Stadium

MICHAEL KLEINER
Business & Sprorts Editor
The Norwegian American

Erling Braut Haaland scored a hat trick as the Norway national team beat Gibraltar 5-1 on Sept. 7 in a Group G World Cup qualifying match before 10,000 fans at Ullevål Stadium in Oslo. A hat trick in soccer is when one player scores three goals in one game. Haaland has 12 goals for the national team in 15 games in 368 days. Kristian Thorstvedt and Alexander Sørloth had a goal and an assist.

The standings in the group are tight with four games to play. The group winner gets an automatic spot in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. “The duo will go through a replay phase next year. In it, three pool winners (after semifinals and finals in each group) will advance to the World Cup,” according to NTB.

Goal differential will break any ties. Netherlands and Norway are tied for first with 13 points (each 4-1-1), but the Dutch have a 22-6 goal differential, while Norway is 12-5. Turkey is third (3-2-1, 11, 16-13); followed by Montenegro (2-2-2, 8, 8-9); Latvia (1-2-3, 5, 7-10), and Gibraltar (0-0-6, 0, 3-25).

The remaining games are Oct. 8 at Turkey; Oct. 10 home against Montenegro; Nov. 13, home vs. Latvia; Nov. 16 at the Netherlands, who beat Turkey 6-1, Sept. 7. 

This article originally appeared in the Oct. 8, 2021, issue of The Norwegian American.

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Michael Kleiner

Michael Kleiner, business and sports editor, has more than three decades of experience as an award-winning journalist and public relations professional. He has operated his own PR and web design business for small businesses, authors and community organizations in Philadelphia since 1999. Not of Norwegian descent, he lived in Norway for a year with his family at age 11 and has returned as an adult. He is the author of a memoir, Beyond the Cold: An American’s Warm Portrait of Norway, and a member of NorCham Philadelphia. Visit Kleinerprweb.com; beyondthecold.com.