Solbakken: Haaland Substitution "Was Not a Difficult Decision"

Norway's World Cup fairy tale came to a bitter end in the quarter-finals against England.

The Scandinavians had to concede a 1-2 defeat after extra time (match report>>>). A decision by head coach Stale Solbakken provided plenty of talking points.

During the extra time break, the 58-year-old controversially withdrew superstar Erling Haaland from the field. At that point, Norway was trailing 1-2 after Jude Bellingham's goal in the 93rd minute and desperately needed a goal to at least force a penalty shootout.

Jörgen Strand Larsen came on in the 105th minute for the seven-time World Cup scorer. The attacker had yet to score in the tournament and had even missed a penalty in the last group match against France.

"Maybe I Should Have Substituted Him Even Earlier"

After the final whistle, Solbakken defended his surprising decision.

"It was not a difficult decision to substitute him. Maybe I should have taken him off ten minutes earlier," explained the Norwegian national coach.

Haaland had expended enormous energy throughout the tournament and was physically at his limit. "He had a fantastic World Cup and gave everything in every game."

Adding to the difficulty was that the striker had apparently suffered a painful dead leg in the second half.

Solbakken Pays Respect to Haaland

Despite the bitter exit, Solbakken had nothing but praise for his top scorer.

"He scored seven goals in five games. You can hardly ask for more from a player," the head coach said about the star striker.

With seven goals, Haaland nevertheless finishes the World Cup as one of the outstanding players of the tournament – even if Norway's big dream of a World Cup title was shattered in the quarter-finals.