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Erling Haaland started the World Cup as expected, by scoring goals.
On his debut in major international competitions, Haaland scored twice against Iraq, before bagging two more against Senegal, going toe-to-toe with other superstars in the competition, including Kylian Mbappe, who is in his group.
Both Norway and France opened the World Cup with two wins, and faced each other in the final group game, with France winning 4-1, but Haaland was named on the bench and didn't feature at all.
Is Erling Haaland injured?
Haaland’s record for Norway is quite frankly ridiculous. Making his debut just a month after turning 19, he has gone on to play 52 times for his country, scoring a flabbergasting 59 goals, over a goal a game.
He has scored in 12 consecutive competitive games for Norway, including home and away against Italy in qualifying, and a brace in his first two World Cup matches ever.
Amongst football fans, there were whispers that Norway could spring a surprise in their final group game against France but those whispers disappeared when the team-sheets were handed in.
Manager Stale Solbakken opted to make 10 changes to his starting XI against France, with Fredrik Aursnes the sole survivor of their win against Senegal.
There is no indication that Haaland is injured ahead of this blockbuster fixture, which means the decision is tactical.
Norway were already through the round of 32, and all that's left to determine is where they finish in the group, with Solbakken clearly deciding there is no major benefit to winning the group for the Vikings.
Therefore, Haaland was simply rested as Norway look to make a deep run into the tournament in the coming weeks.
For the neutrals, it was a slightly disappointing outcome as it would have been great to see two of the world’s best lock horns so early in the competition.
