Erling Haaland incredibly celebrated guiding Norway to the brink of next summer’s World Cup by collecting an estimated 70 cheeseburgers for his team-mates.
The striker continued his blistering form with another brace as the Scandinavian nation increased their lead at the top of Group I to some six points with a dominant 4-1 victory over Estonia.
It means the Norwegians’ place in the summer’s North American World Cup is all but confirmed, with second-placed Italy significantly behind on goal difference with just two games left of qualifying.
And Haaland – who bagged his 29th and 30th goals of the season on the night – treated his victorious team-mates to a cheat meal post-match.
The 25-year-old was pictured lugging a huge order of cheeseburgers back to the changing room – much to the delight of midfielder Sander Berge.
‘It’s a strong performance from the captain!’, the Fulham star joked.
Erling Haaland incredibly celebrated guiding Norway to the brink of next summer’s World Cup by collecting an estimated 70 cheeseburgers for his team-mates
The forward scored two in a 10-minute second half blitz as Norway beat Estonia 4-1 in Oslo
Norway haven’t qualified for a World Cup in 28 years but sit six points clear at the top of their qualifying group
All four of Norway’s goals tonight at the national Ullevaal Stadium came during a 10-minute second half blitz.
Former Crystal Palace striker Alexander Sorloth bagged the first two on 50 and 52 minutes before Haaland inevitably got his name on the scoresheet twice too.
Estonia later pulled one back but it was a mere consolation as Norway edged closer to a place at next year’s American, Mexican and Canadian World Cup.
Haaland’s now scored in each of his last four games for club and country, his latest Manchester City strike coming against Liverpool on the weekend.
The blonde behemoth looks set to blitz his previous best season for the Cityzens of 52 goals in a single campaign and admitted before the clash with the Reds that he’s at the peak of his powers.
‘I feel this is the best version of myself,’ the 25-year-old said. ‘I’ve never felt better than now. ‘It’s been a good start, and I feel really good.
‘To keep sharp, I need to keep my mind in the right place. It’s staying in the zone and having that balance.’
Praising his manager, he added: ‘It’s Pep Guardiola – he’s a genius. There’s a reason why he’s been winning so much – because of his dedication and hard work.
Haaland’s already bagged 30 goals this season and admits he’s at the peak of his powers
The Norwegian described Man City boss Pep Guardiola as a ‘genius’ earlier this week
‘Just look at everything he has done for this club and in his career – it’s fantastic. It’s about working together – we need to listen to him, he tells us what to do and how to play. We need to perform for him because he deserves it.’
Haaland’s stunning form has helped City climb the Premier League table after a concerning start to the season.
They now sit just four points adrift of league leaders Arsenal with perhaps favourable fixtures against Newcastle, Leeds, Fulham and Sunderland to come after the international break.
Guardiola confidently claimed his City side are ‘back’ on the weekend after a difficult last campaign.
‘I have the feeling the energy back,’ the Spaniard said. ‘We are more unpredictable in the way we attack and defend and that is good that the opponents don’t know what we are going to do.
‘Last season it didn’t happen, we didn’t handle it well because apparently we didn’t have another target to fight. Nobody had done four titles in a row and we did it and we thought, “what’s next?”
‘I think the four Premier Leagues in a row affected us in a really bad way. It can be understandable a little bit. We tried to push each other but we were not able to do it.
‘Since the Club World Cup, I felt something different in general. It’s nice to still have the feeling that we are back in terms of many things.’
