Haaland fires blank for Norway against Kazakhstan

Norway failed to secure promotion from League B in the previous edition of the tournament in 2022-2023, and its attempt to escape Group B3 got off to a frustrating start in Almaty.

Haaland was the joint-leading goalscorer in the 2022-2023 tournament alongside Aleksandar Mitrovic with six goals, but he was unable to find the target despite being presented with several good chances.

The Manchester City man sent a 24th-minute header spiralling over the crossbar, then dragged another effort wide from the edge of the six-yard box five minutes later.

Norway dominated possession as newly promoted Kazakhstan dug in to preserve its clean sheet after the break, and Haaland's best chance would come nine minutes after the restart.

However, the Premier League's leading scorer was unable to steer home from a couple of yards out as Norway's winless run in competitive action stretched to three games.

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard was at the centre of everything good about Norway's performance, creating four chances for team-mates and registering the most passes in the final third (41) of every player on the pitch.

However, Norway found its main man Haaland out of form up top, the City star failing to score from four shots totalling 0.9 expected goals (xG), a figure that represented almost half the overall total created by both teams (Kazakhstan 0.21, Norway 1.63).

Erling Braut Haaland

Norway