CRAIG HOPE: Erling Haaland should have stopped for Norway fans after their defeat by Scotland but there was some mitigation – he’d just realised he’ll be at least 25 before he plays at a major tournament
- Erling Haaland was booed after he snubbed young Norway supporters
- Haaland had already sidestepped the media following his side’s defeat
- Lyndon Dykes made a major impact late on as Scotland overcame Norway
Erling Haaland had already sidestepped the media — that did not go down well with the Norwegian press — but when he then dodged the kids who were chanting his name outside the Ullevaal Stadion, the condemnation was entire.
Some of those on the jubilant Scotland team coach, waiting behind the home bus onto which Haaland had sloped, were unimpressed by him ignoring the young fans, armed only with pen and paper.
The boys and girls in their junior red jerseys, which cost £70 here, sent a chorus of boos whistling towards their hero. They’ll remember his snub. He should, like his team-mates had done, have taken a few minutes to sign some shirts and pads.
Why was Haaland sulking? There is at least some mitigation. Foremost, the realisation that he will be 25 by the time he gets the chance to play in a major tournament.
Norway, who last appeared at Euro 2000, most likely won’t be going to next summer’s European Championship after this defeat — they have one point from three games — and columnists in leading newspaper VG on Sunday questioned the future of manager Stale Solbakken. ‘Either there is a curse over this job — or maybe we choose the wrong national team managers?’ they opined.
Erling Haaland was booed after snubbing young fans following Norway’s loss to Scotland
Haaland ignored the young Norway supporters having already sidestepped the media
And that is another reason for Haaland’s huff. He was taken off on 84 minutes with Norway leading 1-0 thanks to the penalty he had won and converted.
That was when Lyndon Dykes, the QPR striker who scored eight goals in the Championship last season, stole Haaland’s headlines, poking home an equaliser on 87 minutes before teeing up Kenny McLean to score the winner less than 100 seconds later.
Who would have thought Dykes would be the best No 9 on the pitch? The Scotland star laughs at my suggestion.
‘Nah, credit where it’s due,’ he said. ‘After the game I shook his (Haaland’s) hand and I just told him, “You’re a beast, you’ve absolutely killed the Premier League”. I just wanted to say that to him. He said, “Well done”. He was disappointed but it was good to chat. He’s amazing, everyone sees that, his numbers are absolutely incredible.’
Same question to Andy Robertson — who had won the battle of the No 9s?
Lyndon Dykes scored and got an assist in Scotland’s late victory against Norway
Scotland defender Andrew Robertson praised Dykes for the impact that he made
‘I’ve just heard you ask Lyndon that, you’re using that quite a lot, aren’t you?!’ returned the Scotland captain.
‘Dykesy ran his socks off for 80 minutes without getting much reward. He was flicking on to players who weren’t there.
‘Then, the last 10 minutes, he came alive. All of a sudden, we had players who could get around him. You started seeing his link-up play. For not playing for the last five weeks because of the Championship finishing early, that last 10 minutes was extremely impressive.’
It was not just Dykes, Scotland as a team have been impressive under Steve Clarke for some time now. There is a momentum building and magic sparkling around them, much like what happened with Wales and Northern Ireland in recent years. Now, it feels like Scotland’s turn.
If they win their next two, at home to Georgia on Tuesday) and away to Cyprus in September, they could become one of the first countries to qualify for Euro 2024, a stage befitting this brilliant team alongside the continent’s best players. All except Haaland, that is.
