Martin Odegaard laughed off suggestions Norway could win the World Cup following their 11-1 hammering of Moldova last night.
The claim came from Norwegian television pundit Carl-Erik Torp after Erling Haaland scored five times and substitute Thelo Aasgaard netted four as Moldova were hopelessly outplayed in Oslo.
Stale Solbakken’s side top qualifying Group I, six points ahead of Italy having played a game more, and are in a strong position to secure a place in next summer’s finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Norway would go in as underdogs – Torp
Speaking on NRK programme Bakrommet, Torp explained his reasoning. He said: “It’s about the players we have. It’s about how they work together, they play their best football on the national team, they are hungry and we can take aim as underdogs. It’s an incredibly cool position to have in a tournament.”
Odegaard, who was also on target, was made aware of Torp’s claim but shrugged it off, saying: “I think it’s our job to keep our feet on the ground. We know how it is with you in the media and with people in general – there is hype and a lot of optimism when things are going well.”
Solbakken also made light of Torp’s comments.
He said with a smile: “I think Carl-Erik has had a cardiac arrest. We know everything about pacemakers, and when it starts to work, you get little air to the brain. I think that’s what has happened now.”
Both Torp and Solbakken have pacemakers fitted after suffering cardiac arrests that ended their playing careers.
Haaland – it was pretty sick
Haaland will return to Manchester City in confident mood. Next up for him is Sunday’s derby against Manchester United.
Asked to describe the feat of scoring five times in one game for his country, he said: “It’s pretty sick, I have to say. It speaks for itself.
“It’s good that I got some good assists, and not just goals. There’s a lot of pressure on our shoulders, so we just have to deliver.”
Norway centre-half Leo Skiri Østigård, who netted an own goal to give Moldova something to cheer, heaped praise on Haaland after another remarkable performance.
“Erling is the best player in the world. He is very important for us. Just the fact that he is there causes fear in the other teams,” Østigård told Dagbladet.
