Haaland's brace surpasses Ronaldo and Ibrahimovic milestones as Norway edge Denmark 3-2

Erling Haaland fired Norway to a 3-2 Nations League victory over Denmark on Thursday, his brace taking him to 64 international goals in just 56 appearances — surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo’s all-time Brazil tally and Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s record for Sweden.

Norway made a bright start at Oscar Bobb, the former Manchester City winger, curled a left-footed strike into the bottom corner on 14 minutes. Haaland added a second moments later, slotting a shot between Filip Jorgensen’s legs to put the hosts firmly in control.

Denmark refused to fold. Mikkel Damsgaard’s free kick halved the deficit to cap a frantic 11-minute spell, before former Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund headed home on the hour to level the contest. It was Haaland, inevitably, who had the final word — powering home Martin Odegaard’s corner to seal the win and send Norway to the top of a Nations League group that also includes Portugal and Wales.

The Norwegian media were effusive in their praise after the final whistle. TV2’s player ratings read: “Erling Braut Haaland saves Norway again. Norway is at Level A in the Nations League. But Haaland is at a level no Norwegian player has ever been at. 64 goals in 56 international matches. Yes, you read that right. Extraterrestrial.”

The outlet added: “We have beaten Denmark in a significant match for the first time ever. It wasn’t always pretty, and Denmark had its periods, but we have Erling Braut Haaland. Most of the time, that’s good enough. Our Danish neighbours are green with envy that the world’s best striker is Norwegian.”

Fulham midfielder Sander Berge, speaking to Dagbladet after the match, was equally emphatic about his international teammate’s standing in the game. “His statistics are absolutely ridiculous,” Berge said. “Erling is going to be one of the greatest of all time. That goes without saying. Erling is insane.”

Berge also touched on Haaland’s admiration for Ibrahimovic, whose Sweden record he has now eclipsed. “His role model is Zlatan. They met at the World Cup — I was there behind the scenes. It was cool to see them next to each other. I think Zlatan thinks it’s cool that Erling delivers the way he does.”

Norway’s next test comes on Sunday against Portugal, who also opened their Nations League campaign with a victory.