Although he started the season the way he did – scoring goals like no other – Erling Haaland will not continue his crop in international competitions. With Manchester City’s star striker out with a minor foot injury, Norway will no longer hope to play at Euro 2024 in Germany ahead of their final qualifier against Scotland on Sunday 19 November. Playoff route according to UEFA regulations.
Third place in Group A of Euro 2024 qualifiers – After Spain and Scotland confirmed their ticket to the tournament in Germany (June 14 to July 14), Norway’s men’s team football is now certain not to play at the next Euros. The men, led by former international Stale Solbakken, could still hope to reach the competition via the play-offs, but to do so they will have to rely on a series of favorable results in Group I on Saturday night. And Romania’s victory over Israel (2-1) destroyed the last hopes. Norway have been ruled out of their hopes of qualifying for the play-offs, which are reserved for the last-ranked teams in the Nations League.
Only the fourth-best runners-up in the competition’s ‘League B’, a selection led by Haaland and Arsenal attacking midfielder Martin Odegaard, will no longer be among the four drafted for the play-offs. And will extend its black hole in international competition, Norway’s last participation in the Euros or World Cup dating back to Euro 2000. Born on July 21 this year, three weeks after the final, Erling Haaland never saw his country compete. final sentence.
Two-thirds of the qualifiers (16 out of 24) for the 2024 edition of the prestigious continental competition are already known – starting with France, whose overwhelming victory over Gibraltar on Saturday (14-0) confirmed their Euro seeding spot. Five more tickets will be distributed before the end of the group stage on Tuesday.
Haaland’s Ballon d’Or dreams may suffer
The final tickets will go to three of the twelve nations who have been called up for the play-offs next March. Seven are already known: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Finland, Georgia, Greece, Israel, Luxembourg and Poland of “Barcelona” striker Robert Lewandowski.
Therefore, Erling Haaland will not spend the summer in Germany. The former Borussia Dortmund striker, who has averaged one goal per game since the start of the season (13 in the league and four in the Champions League), will have to wait until he shines for his national team on football’s biggest stage. Despite a recent Ballon d’Or runner-up, 56 goals in the season and a Champions League-Premier League-Cup treble with Manchester City, the Norwegian striker has seen his individual ambitions at the Euros suffer this absence. Crowned with the Ballon d’Or for the eighth time, Lionel Messi was truly rewarded for taking Argentina to the top of the world during the World Cup in Qatar.
“Of course, I dream of achieving great things with my selectionassured the Norwegian striker when questioned France-footballBefore the Golden Ball award ceremony. We are a small country with a population of barely 5.5 million, so it is not easy. But I dream of participating in the Euro or the World Cup. » If expanding the World Cup to 48 teams (up from 32) from the next outing in 2026 (USA, Canada and Mexico) might help its ambitions, it still won’t be until the summer of 2024.
Source: Le Monde
Jason Root is a sports aficionado and a writer at Run Down Bulletin. With a passion for athletic competition and a wealth of knowledge on all things sports, he provides in-depth coverage of the biggest games and events in the world of sports.
