Erling Haaland has extended his all-time UEFA Nations League scoring record after finding the net against Portugal, taking his total to 22 goals and moving seven clear of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Haaland extends incredible scoring record sespite Norway defeat to Portugal
Erling Haaland has made more history for Norway after scoring against Portugal and extending his record as the highest goalscorer in UEFA Nations League history.
Norway suffered a 2-1 defeat, but Haaland once again found the net for his country.
His goal took him to:
22 UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE GOALS
And that puts the Manchester City striker even further ahead of some of the biggest names in European football.
Haaland scores again for Norway
Norway were behind against Portugal when Haaland produced another important moment.
The striker reacted quickly inside the penalty area and scored to bring his country level.
It was his third goal in the opening two matches of the new Nations League campaign.
Norway could not complete the comeback, but Haaland still left the match with another major individual milestone.
22 Nations League goals
Haaland was already the leading scorer in Nations League history before facing Portugal.
Now he has extended that record to:
22 GOALS
His closest challengers remain well behind.
The all-time list now includes:
Erling Haaland: 22
Aleksandar Mitrovic: 15
Cristiano Ronaldo: 15
Vedat Muriqi: 14
Romelu Lukaku: 13
That means Haaland is now seven goals ahead of Ronaldo in the competition’s all-time scoring chart.
Haaland moves further clear of Ronaldo
The comparison with Ronaldo is particularly interesting because Haaland has openly described the Portugal legend as one of his biggest football inspirations.
Before this international window, Haaland’s past comments about Ronaldo were widely discussed again.
He has previously called Ronaldo his football idol and said the Portuguese superstar helped inspire the player he became.
Now Haaland has moved well ahead of his idol in one major international scoring category.
Ronaldo has scored 15 goals in the Nations League.
Haaland has 22.
And the Norwegian is still only 26 years old.
65 goals for Norway
The Portugal goal was also another major step in Haaland’s extraordinary international career.
He has now scored:
65 GOALS IN 57 MATCHES FOR NORWAY
That means Haaland continues to average more than one goal per international appearance.
It is an extraordinary scoring rate at national-team level.
Haaland is already Norway’s record goalscorer and continues to push the national record higher almost every time he plays.
Haaland has already passed Zlatan
His international total has also taken him beyond one of Scandinavian football’s biggest legends.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic finished his Sweden career with:
62 INTERNATIONAL GOALS
Haaland has now reached 65.
That makes the Norwegian the highest-scoring men’s international player from the Nordic countries.
And with many years potentially still ahead of him, the gap could continue to grow.
Three goals in two Nations League matches
Haaland has also started the latest Nations League campaign in excellent form.
He scored twice against Denmark in Norway’s opening match.
Then he added another against Portugal.
His record now stands at:
3 GOALS IN 2 MATCHES
That places Haaland among the leading scorers in the competition once again.
An incredible run for Norway
Haaland’s consistency for the national team has become almost as impressive as his overall numbers.
He has now scored in:
16 OF HIS LAST 17 MATCHES FOR NORWAY
For opposing defenders, stopping Haaland has become one of the most difficult tasks in international football.
His combination of power, movement and finishing continues to produce goals at an incredible rate.
Norway lose, but Haaland makes history again
The result against Portugal was disappointing for Norway.
They were unable to turn Haaland’s equaliser into a victory and eventually lost 2-1.
But individually, their superstar striker once again moved into new territory.
He now has:
22 Nations League goals
65 goals for Norway
3 goals in two Nations League matches this season
And he remains comfortably ahead of Ronaldo and every other player in the competition’s all-time scoring chart.
Another record that could keep growing
Haaland has already broken numerous scoring records for club and country.
But his Nations League total may be one of the most difficult for another player to catch.
At only 26, he already has a seven-goal advantage over Ronaldo and Mitrovic.
And if his current international scoring rate continues, 22 may only be the beginning.
Even on a night when Norway lost, Haaland still found another way to rewrite the record books.
