Erling Haaland joined up with the Norwegian national team alongside club teammate Oscar Bobb for their World Cup qualifiers against Finland and Moldova. Haaland finished the break with six and two assists, scoring five of those in a single game against Moldova.
This marks the third time since being a City player that the striker has scored five in a game, with the other two coming against RB Leipzig in the Champions League, and Luton Town in an FA Cup tie.
He is yet to achieve this feat in the Premier League, with four goals against Wolves being his most.
— Erling Haaland (@ErlingHaaland) September 9, 2025
An Outstanding Break
After heading off on international duty losing two games in a row, Haaland has seemingly not lost any self confidence after contributing to eight goals in just a game and a half of football.
Norway faced Finland in their first game and comfortably won 1-0 through a first half penalty from none other than Erling Haaland. He was substituted at half time but his side were able to see the game out to give them their fourth win of the qualifying campaign.
Five days later they hosted Moldova at the Ullevaal Stadium, a game which finished 11-1 and will go down in Norwegian history. It was their largest winning margin in over thirty years, when they beat San Marino 10-0.
Haaland had a direct contribution on seven of the eleven goals, scoring five and assisting the other two to Myrhe and Aasgaard, who scored four off the bench.
A Freak Injury
During the break Haaland did manage to pick up a very unusual injury though, which came off the pitch rather than on it.
Bus 1️⃣ ➖ 0️⃣ Haaland
— 433 (@433) September 8, 2025
Haaland needed three stitches (!) after being hit by a bus door while on international duty 🤕🇳🇴 pic.twitter.com/peZhDN4jOl
He showed the extent of the injury on his Snapchat story in which he even joked that the Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard is the reason he needed the stitches.
It didn't seem to bother the striker at all though as he managed a perfect 10 rating on FotMob in his next game, which is only the fifth time they have given that score out.
Norway Record
After adding another six goals to his international tally, Haaland has now scored 48 goals in just 45 appearances for his nation. He averages a goal every 76 minutes and is already 15 goals clear at the top of the scoring charts.
Norway haven't qualified for a major tournament since Euro 2000 and last featured at the World Cup in 1998 and so Haaland hasn't appeared at a major international tournament so far in his career.
But after five wins from five in their qualification group, Norway only need just six points from a possible twelve to guarantee their spot in the 2026 World Cup.
A Manchester Derby Awaits
Now that the international break is over Haaland will be going back to Manchester to prepare for the derby at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
He has played against United eight times in his career, scoring six and assisting three. This includes a hat trick in City's treble winning season when he and Phil Foden both netted three times in a 6-3 win.
The Norwegian will be hoping to bring his form back from international duty and add to his Premier League goal tally as City look to bounce back from two consecutive defeats.
