Erling Haaland has issued an apology to his fans following a significant disappointment, marking yet another instance where the Norwegian national team has underperformed.
In front of 9,099 spectators at Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo, the Norwegian national team played to a 1-1 draw with Slovakia in a friendly match on Tuesday evening.
The Norwegians were notably unlucky; despite Alexander Sørloth’s opening goal in the 18th minute, they failed to add any more goals. Ondrej Duda managed to equalize for the visitors three minutes before the end, setting the final score at 1-1.
However, it wasn’t due to a lack of opportunities for Norway. Martin Ødegaard hit the crossbar, Sørloth had a goal disallowed, and Erling Haaland missed a penalty. The disappointment was palpable in the Norwegian camp after the match.
“It’s crazy. We should have comfortably won the match,” Martin Ødegaard said in a post-match interview with Norwegian TV2.
Haaland, who missed a penalty in the second half, has taken responsibility for the outcome.
“Sorry everyone. It’s my fault we didn’t win today,” the Norwegian wrote on the social media platform Instagram.
The Norwegian goal scorer, who has been plagued by injuries this season, was granted an hour on the field in agreement with Norway’s coach, the former FC Copenhagen manager Ståle Solbakken.
Solbakken noted after the match that Norway has conceded eight goals after the 80th minute over the past year.
“We must solve this before things get serious in the autumn. There’s no reason for it to have been exciting today. This game should have been settled a hundred years ago,” Solbakken observed.
Norway has not qualified for this summer’s European Championship in Germany. Solbakken’s team will face Kosovo and Denmark in two friendly matches in June.
