Erling Braut Haaland is back in Norway and ready for the national team's first matches since the summer's World Cup quarter-final. The striker arrived at Oslo Gardermoen Airport via private flight on Sunday evening at 10:00 PM, accompanied by his partner Isabel Haugseng Johansen, their son, and several friends.
His arrival marks the start of a key Nations League period for Norway, who sit second in World Cup qualifying with six points from three games. The team has four matches scheduled: at home against Denmark and Portugal, and away to Wales and Portugal. The first fixture is against Denmark at Ullevaal Stadium on Thursday, 24 September.
Monday's planned training session in Lillestrøm was cancelled due to too few available players. Several squad members are undergoing injury rehabilitation. The national team's media officer, Morten Morisbak Skjønsberg, sent out the message about the cancellation. - There are so few players not scheduled for rehab that the training in Lillestrøm is cancelled, Skjønsberg said. The first full squad session is now planned for Tuesday at Ullevaal. Captain Martin Ødegaard had already arrived at Gardermoen earlier on Sunday, and several other players followed throughout the day. The Benfica duo of Fredrik Aursnes and Andreas Schjelderup arrived later than the rest, having just played a match for their club against Porto.
Haaland's return provides a massive boost to the national team's attack. He is the team's top scorer this season with seven goals in five appearances, and overall has 62 goals in 55 caps. At the summer's World Cup, he scored seven goals in five matches and was Norway's primary goal threat. His last club match was for Manchester City, where he scored and suffered a major injury in a 5-3 win over Sunderland earlier on Sunday. That goal meant he has now scored against all 25 Premier League teams he has faced.
Manager Ståle Solbakken will hold the squad's first press conference on Monday at 16:15. Norway are coming off a 1-2 loss to England on 11 July, but have three wins in their last five matches. Preparations for Thursday's important home match are now fully underway.
The original report is at Aftenposten
