Despite leading the game with four shots, Erling Haaland was relatively quiet – at least by the lofty standards created by his first two games of the World Cup where he scored two goals apiece before sitting on the bench for the final group stage game against France.
He was quiet, that is, until he wasn’t. One of the most lethal scorers on the planet found the back of the net when it counted most, giving Norway a 2-1 lead over Ivory Coast in the 86th minute.
His team held on for victory and Haaland celebrated in style.
In his first post on social media following the win, Haaland responded to a post that said, “You don’t see him for 90 minutes and then he just spawns out of nowhere to win the game with the nastiest tap in you’ve ever seen.”
The Norwegian star couldn’t muster any words, responding to the post with just a few crying laughing emojis.
With the 2-1 win over Ivory Coast, Norway punched its ticket to the Round of 16 where it will face off against Brazil, which defeated Japan 2-1 earlier this week. The Brazil-Norway Round of 16 game is scheduled for July 5 at 4 p.m. ET.