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regular-article-logo Monday, 06 May 2024

Erling Haaland's penalty goes in vain as Scotland clinches 2-1 victory over Norway

The win moved the Scots to nine points, six ahead of second-placed Spain who have played a game less. Norway are fourth on one point

Reuters Oslo Published 19.06.23, 07:12 AM
Erling Haaland with his teammates in the Group A European Championship 2024 qualifier against Scotland

Erling Haaland with his teammates in the Group A European Championship 2024 qualifier against Scotland Twitter/@ErlingHaaland

Lyndon Dykes and Kenny McLean both struck late goals as Scotland came back from going a goal down to Erling Haaland's penalty to snatch a 2-1 win over Norway in their Group A European Championship 2024 qualifier on Saturday.

The win moved the Scots to nine points, six ahead of second-placed Spain who have played a game less. Norway are fourth on one point.

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Despite dominating possession, Norway struggled to create many decent chances but eventually Haaland, who won the Champions League on June 10 with Manchester City, came to the rescue as he was bundled over in the box by Ryan Porteous.

The giant Norwegian got up, dusted himself off and fired the ball home low to the goalkeeper's right in the 61st minute to prompt wild celebrations in the Ullevaal Stadium.

With that goal looking to have set his side on the road to victory, Haaland was withdrawn by coach Stale Solbakken in the 84th minute, and it was to prove to be a costly mistake.

A defensive error by Leo Ostigard allowed striker Dykes to poke home the equaliser three minutes before the end of normal time, and he then teed up substitute McLean to score the winner two minutes later as Scotland secured an unlikely win that silenced the home crowd.

Fernandes double

Bruno Fernandes struck twice and Bernardo Silva also scored to earn Portugal a 3-0 home win over Bosnia and Herzegovina and secure the third straight win of their qualifying campaign.

Roberto Martinez's side top Group J with nine points and will be looking for a fourth successive victory against Iceland on Tuesday. Bosnia, fourth on three points, next host Luxembourg.

Portugal dominated possession but only opened the scoring seconds before half time when Silva chipped in from Fernandes's pass to register his 11th international goal.

Fernandes doubled the lead with a brilliant header from Ruben Neves's cross in the 77th minute before sealing the win in stoppage time with a powerful volley to reach 15 international goals.

"I was fresh, now less fresh, but I will recover. Later I'll have my rest, but I always want to play and give my best. I don't want to think about being tired," the Manchester United midfielder told Sport TV after his 69th match of the season. "It was a difficult game and a great win."

Cristiano Ronaldo, making his 199th appearance for Portugal, didn't add to the men's record of 122 international goals, but he featured in a touching moment when a fan rushed onto the field waving a Portuguese flag in the second half.

The man gave Ronaldo a bear hug and lifted him high. Ronaldo embraced him as well, before the fan scampered off to avoid the security guards.

Lukaku nets equaliser

Austria claimed a potentially important away point as they held Belgium to a 1-1 draw in their Group F qualifier in Brussels, ending their hosts impressive winning run in the preliminaries.

The result meant Austria, who played a robust physical game, advanced to seven points from three games, three more than Belgium, who were playing their second group game, in the bid to qualify for next year's finals in Germany.

Austria took the lead from a 21st-minute corner, swung over to the back post where Michael Gregoritsch struck the ball in. Belgium midfielder Orel Mangala stuck out his heel in a sloppy effort to block the ball and only succeeded in diverting it past goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

Romelu Lukaku, captaining in the absence of injured Kevin De Bruyne, had missed a good chance in the second half but made up for it in the 61st minute as he was given time to turn and fire in the equaliser.

Reuters

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