Nations League: Haaland stars in Norway double as Republic of Ireland lose

Erling Haaland once again performed well, scoring a decisive brace to help Norway beat Denmark in a thrilling 3-2 victory. National League opener.

Fresh off a brilliant World Cup campaign in which he scored seven goals to help Norway reach the quarter-finals, the Manchester City talisman was once again a key figure in Oslo.

A chaotic first half, with three goals scored in 11 minutes, set the tone for the first half.

Fulham’s Oscar Bobb opened the scoring for his side by latching on to a lovely pass from Arsenal playmaker Martin Odegaard and firing a fine shot into the far corner. Just four minutes later, Antonio Nousa danced into the Danish penalty area before passing the ball to Haaland, who instinctively fired his first-time shot past Filip Jorgensen.

Brentford’s Mikkel Damsgaard halved the deficit almost immediately with a brilliant 25-yard free-kick and Denmark struck back on the hour mark, with former Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund leveling the visitors at 2-2.

Haaland had the final say but from a clever corner kick the lethal striker found space in the box to score.

Elsewhere, Republic of Ireland lost to Kosovo in a draw, while Greece won in Serbia.

Israeli striker Saied Abu Farchi was sent off after his equalizer against Austria after celebrating with a corner flag simulating a gunshot.

Austria won 3-1 with two late goals.

National League results

Andorra 1-2 Malta

Netherlands 1-1 Germany

Serbia 1-2 Greece

Liechtenstein 0-2 Lithuania

Austria 3-1 Israel

Kosovo 1-0 Republic of Ireland

Norway 3-2 Denmark

Portugal 1-0 Wales

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