Erling Haaland scored on his return to Norway but it was not enough to secure a win as Scotland came back to win 2-1 on Saturday and maintain a perfect record in qualifying for next year’s European Championship.
Haaland opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 61st minute, but Scotland took the lead with two goals in two minutes when he was later substituted.
Norwegian Erling Haaland converts a clinical penalty
Haaland was brought down by defender Ryan Porteous as they competed to receive an incoming cross from Alexander Sorloth. Haaland hit the resulting penalty hard into the bottom left corner for his first goal in six games for club and country since his 35th English Premier League goal against Everton on May 14.
Norway coach Stale Solbakken pulled Haaland off in the 84th and Scotland scored three minutes later. Defender Leo Skiri Østigård tried to intercept a Scottish pass, but his touch was heavy and Lyndon Dykes hit the loose ball past goalkeeper Orjan Nyland. Two minutes after that, Scotland took the lead as Dykes went past substitute Kenny McLean to score his first Scotland goal since 2019.
The loss dealt a heavy blow to Norway’s chances of qualifying from Group A after the team stumbled to a point from their first two games when Haaland was injured in March. It was his first cap since September.
Scots Lyndon Dykes and Kenny McLean score twice in two minutes
Scotland lead the group with nine points as they aim to qualify for consecutive Euros for the first time since 1996. Spain have three points from two games, including a loss to Scotland, and did not play on Saturday. The other two teams, Cyprus and Georgia, played on Saturday night.
In other qualifying groups, Cristiano Ronaldo could play his 199th game for Portugal against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Belgium against Austria.
Associated Press report.
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