Norway beat Slovakia 2-0 in a friendly match. Despite their superiority, it took until the final stages before Haaland broke the spell
With some familiar faces from German football, Norway and Slovakia met for a friendly match. Dortmund’s Haaland started for the home team, while Ryerson (1. FC Union) and Hauge (Frankfurt) were on the bench, as was Möller Daehli from second division Nuremberg. Cologne’s Duda started for the Slovaks, while Düsseldorf’s Bozenik was on the bench.
After a few minutes of rest, Slovakia put the first exclamation mark on the game. After a quarter of an hour, Haraslin finished from the left of the penalty area, but Norwegian keeper Nyland was on his toes (15.). This seemed to be the wake-up call for the Norwegians, who then took command of the game. But it was not Haaland, but Elyounoussi who set the tone in the offensive. The Southampton legionnaire tried three times from promising positions (23rd, 33rd, 38th). But either the Slovakian keeper Rodak was on the spot or Elyounoussi had not set his sights correctly. And so it went into the dressing rooms goalless.
Hrosovsky on the post – Haaland opens, Ödegaard adds to the score
Shortly after the restart, Haaland also registered. After a pass from Sörloth, who had been loaned from Leipzig to Real Sociedad, Haaland first let his opponent off the ball on the edge of the penalty area and then took his shot. His shot was too central, however, and Rodak was able to grab it (51). Norway were now the dominant team, but the Slovakian keeper Rodak remained the winner in a private duel with Elyounoussi in the 58th minute.
Slovakia could hardly free themselves from their grip, but were then unlucky when Hrosovsky failed to hit the left post in the 65th minute. Norway, however, did not let that get in their way any more. First Sörloth only managed a shot from eleven metres (70th), a little later Haaland did it better: Served by the substitute Thorstvedt, the BVB-star headed over Rodak for 1:0 for Norway (77th). Now Norway really had fun: After a cross from the left, Haaland went for a side-footed shot, but his spectacular attempt was blocked. The ball came to Ödegaard, who scored with a perfect flick into the left corner of the goal (80.). Ödegaard almost made it 3-0 with a free-kick in the 89th minute, but his shot missed the right post by millimetres.
