Norway secured a spot in the World Cup for the first time since 1998, following a 4-1 victory over Italy in their final European qualifier. During this decisive match, Haaland scored two goals, extending his international scoring streak to 11 consecutive games.

Haaland celebrates Norway's 4-1 victory over Italy at San Siro stadium, Milan, Italy on the evening of 16/11. *Reuters*

This achievement matches a 63-year-old record set by Abdul Ghani, a striker once known as the "King of Malaysian Football". Ghani scored in 11 consecutive matches between 28/5/1961 and 28/8/1962. The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) confirmed this record.

Ghani, born on 23/12/1935, passed away on 28/9/2012 at the age of 76. He holds the record for scoring 58 goals in 57 matches for the Malaya national team, the predecessor to Malaysia. Ghani trained with several prominent European clubs, including West Ham, Arsenal, Tottenham, Cardiff City, and Eintracht Frankfurt.

Haaland's scoring run began on 14/11/2024, when he scored in a 4-1 victory against Slovenia. Since then, Norway has won all 11 matches in which the 25-year-old striker played. The only break in Norway's winning streak was a friendly against New Zealand, where Haaland did not feature.

Record-holder Cristiano Ronaldo has twice scored in 6 consecutive matches for the Portugal national team. Lionel Messi had an 8-match scoring streak from 12/2022 to 9/2023 for Argentina, but this remains significantly short of the 11-match mark Haaland has now matched.

Haaland has scored 55 goals in just 48 appearances for Norway. Kylian Mbappe has also scored 55 goals for France, but the 26-year-old striker required 94 matches to reach that tally. Moreover, France is considered a much stronger team than Norway.

The 25-year-old striker also equaled Robert Lewandowski's record of 16 goals in a European qualifying campaign. The Polish striker needed 10 matches to achieve this feat, while Haaland accomplished it in just 8 games.

By Hoang An (Source: Sinar Harian)