Norway head coach Ståle Solbakken has defended his decision to substitute Erling Haaland during his side’s 2-1 extra-time defeat to England in the FIFA World Cup quarter-finals, insisting the star striker had given everything he had before being taken off.
The decision to withdraw Haaland midway through extra time raised eyebrows, with Norway trailing and desperately searching for an equaliser.
However, Solbakken revealed after the match that the Manchester City forward was simply exhausted after carrying the team’s attacking burden throughout the tournament.
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“It was not a tough decision to take him out because he was finished, maybe I should have done it 10 minutes before,” Solbakken told reporters after the match.
The Norway boss explained that Haaland had emptied the tank after another physically demanding performance in the humid conditions in Miami, adding that the striker was also struggling with a knock.
“But he obviously had a tremendous World Cup. We used his energy and power for game after game after game,” Solbakken said.
“I think that he also got a dead leg in the second half, so that combined with fatigue. But he did everything he could. He was a little bit unlucky in a couple of situations.”
Despite the heartbreaking exit, Solbakken reserved special praise for his talisman, whose seven goals played a pivotal role in Norway’s remarkable run to the quarter-finals.
“But scoring seven goals in five games for us, he had a fantastic World Cup,” the coach added.
Norway had taken the lead through Andreas Schjelderup before Jude Bellingham levelled for England just before half-time.
Bellingham then capitalised on a costly mistake from goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland early in extra time to score what proved to be the winning goal, sending England into the World Cup semi-finals.
Although Haaland failed to add to his impressive goal tally against England, Solbakken insisted the striker could not have given any more, highlighting the physical demands of the tournament and the immense workload placed on his star forward.
The substitution ultimately marked the end of an outstanding World Cup campaign for Haaland and Norway, with Solbakken making it clear that the decision was driven by necessity rather than tactics.
While the defeat ended Norway’s historic run, the coach believes his leading striker leaves the tournament with his reputation further enhanced after producing one of the standout individual performances of the competition.
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