Haaland plunders hat-trick as Norway seal Nations League promotion

By Sports Desk November 17, 2024

Norway made light work of Kazakhstan as Erling Haaland's hat-trick inspired them to a 5-0 victory in the Nations League on Sunday.

Without absent captain Martin Odegaard, Norway were skippered by Haaland at Ullevaal Stadion, where the Manchester City forward netted his 25th career hat-trick.

Haaland took his total of international goals to 38 in 39 appearances by scoring twice in the first half before rounding off his star turn in the 71st minute.

The 24-year-old now has 22 goals in all competitions for club and country this season, and is the leading scorer in the Nations League with seven strikes to his name.

Alexander Sorloth scored Norway's third goal, while Antonio Nusa, who was heavily involved in both of Haaland's first-half efforts, got in on the act in the 76th minute.

Norway's victory ensured they finished top of Group B3 on 13 points, two ahead of Austria, therefore promoting Stale Solbakken's team to League A.

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  • Italy win shows 'true face of the France team', says Rabiot Italy win shows 'true face of the France team', says Rabiot

    Adrien Rabiot believes Sunday's win over Italy showed "the true face of the France team" as they secured top spot in Nations League Group A2.

    The midfielder headed home twice in their 3-1 victory, meeting excellent deliveries from Lucas Digne on both, with his second goal restoring the all-important two-goal cushion that ensured they finished above the Azzurri in the group.

    This comes after France had failed to find a way past Israel in a frustrating 0-0 draw last time out.

    However, Sunday's victory ensured France will be seeded in the quarter-finals draw as they seem to have put their disappointing Euro 2024 campaign, in which they won just twice as they struggled in front of goal, behind them.

    Les Bleus also avenged the 3-1 defeat to Italy on home soil in the reverse fixture, something Rabiot said was playing on their minds while they prepared for their trip to San Siro.

    "It's been a long time since we've played a match like this, that we haven't fought in this way all together, until the end," he told TF1.

    "We also had the objective of winning with a two-goal difference, we did it. But frankly, the mutual aid that there was in this match, the combativeness, the team spirit, it's to be highlighted. Frankly, we enjoyed playing this match.

    "It was a different context [Thursday]. Above all, there was a revenge to be taken compared to the previous match against Italy, who had come to win at home. It's a great evening. I hope we will continue to show this face. It's the true face of the France team."

    Digne officially got two assists in the victory, but he also played a big role in France's other goal – his free-kick rattled the crossbar before bouncing in off the unfortunate Guglielmo Vicario.

    In fact, France scored three goals from set-pieces in a match for the first time since 1991, when they netted three times from dead-ball situations against Albania.

    "[The free-kick is] a technical gesture that is worked on in training. The more you do, the more automatic it becomes, and it pays off," Digne said.

    "Offensively, it's not bad at all. As a defender, I would have preferred to finish with a clean sheet, but we can't have everything. We finished first, it's great.

    "We had a revenge to take from the first leg, we wanted to show a completely different face. And in addition to our slightly worse match against Israel... We really wanted to show that this jersey is close to our hearts. The whole group was present. It was really a complete match."

    France's Nations League quarter-finals will be played in March. 

  • Israel 1-0 Belgium: Shua late show proves decisive Israel 1-0 Belgium: Shua late show proves decisive

    Relegated Israel stunned Belgium 1-0 in their final Nations League game as Yarden Shua's late goal earned them their first win in the competition this season.

    The Red Devils, who were without a number of key players for the tie in Hungary, were masters of their own downfall as they gifted Israel the winner with four minutes left on the clock.

    In a cagey first half, Eli Dasa breached Belgium's backline 24 minutes in and beat Koen Casteels with a crisp low effort, only to be denied by the foot of the far post.

    Casteels was alert just before the break, getting down low to push Dor Peretz's low drive away from the bottom corner.

    Domenico Tedesco's half-time team talk looked to have buoyed his side as they upped the pressure, with Lois Openda hitting the side netting before Johan Bakayoko forced a fingertip save out of Daniel Peretz just after the hour.

    However, in their rush to find a winner, Belgium were caught playing out from the back. Dor Peretz latched onto Matte Smets' loose backpass, and though he was bundled over in the box, Shua coolly picked out the bottom corner.

    Israel finish bottom of Group A2 and are automatically relegated to League B, while Belgium sit above them due to a superior goal difference in their head-to-head record –they now have a relegation play-off to overcome.

    Data Debrief: Tough times for Tedesco

    It has been a Nations League campaign to forget for Belgium, who managed just one win and finished with a whimper as they went winless in their final four matches (D1 L3).

    They just edged the shot count in Budapest, having 12 attempts to Israel's 10, but without the likes of Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne to call on, they lacked a clinical edge.

    While Belgium struggled in attack, their defensive struggles will also be a worry for Tedesco. They failed to win any of the four games in which they fell behind in the group, earning just one point from a losing position.

  • Italy 1-3 France: Rabiot, Digne combine to clinch top spot Italy 1-3 France: Rabiot, Digne combine to clinch top spot

    France secured top spot in Nations League Group A2 as they beat Italy 3-1 thanks in large part to the efforts of Adrien Rabiot and Lucas Digne.

    Rabiot headed home twice at San Siro on Sunday, each time from excellent Digne dead-ball deliveries.

    Digne also played a pivotal role in France's second goal, with his exceptional free-kick clattering the crossbar and bouncing in off the unfortunate Guglielmo Vicario.

    And though Italy hit back through Andrea Cambiaso just two minutes after Vicario's own goal to make it 2-1, they could not find a second wind after Rabiot had restored Les Bleus' two-goal cushion midway through the second half.

    Mike Maignan, playing in his home stadium, made a fantastic save from Moise Kean deep into stoppage time to preserve France's advantage and ensure Didier Deschamps' side, who were frustrated by Israel last time out, kept hold of top spot.

    The result means France, who did not feel Kylian Mbappe's absence this time out as they had done against Israel, will be seeded in the quarter-finals draw, with those matches to be played in March.

    Data Debrief: Delight for Digne and Rabiot

    Both playing for France for the 50th time, Digne and Rabiot were the stars of the show as Les Bleus gained revenge for their 3-1 defeat to Italy on home soil back in September.

    Rabiot's first goal – a fine header from a brilliant Digne corner – came after just one minute and 59 seconds, marking the earliest goal Italy have conceded in a home match since Opta began recording such data in 2008. It was also France's fastest goal in an away match since a Patrick Battiston effort in a 4-0 win over Luxembourg in October 1984.

    France scored three goals from set-pieces in a match for the first time since 1991, when they netted three times from dead-ball situations against Albania.

    Les Bleus have now won each of their last three away matches against Italy, more than in their first 14.

    Italy may feel hard done by given they had more shots (10 to six) and accumulated a higher expected goals figure (0.7 xG to 0.4), but France's deadly double act of Digne and Rabiot were worthy matchwinners.

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