Haaland came close to scoring the first time he had his chance in Belgrade, but the next time he couldn’t go wrong. In the 26th minute, Martin degaard sent a corner right to Marcus Holmgren Pedersen who headed it sharply past the goalkeeper. The ball went past the keeper, and from close range the super striker only needed to put his foot on the ball to score his national team’s 16th goal.

Then it became completely silent in the Red Star giant arena, which was only a third full. The goal was checked by VAR for almost three minutes (for possible offside) and then approved. It took so long that the players ran sideways for a drink in the heat and had to be rung back for kick-off.

Serbia put a lot of pressure on the match, and in the first quarter of the second half the team came to some great chances which were stopped by Uusimaa. In the 49th minute he stopped the double chances of Luka Jovic and Dusan Tadic, in the 56th minute the triple chances of Darko Lazovic, Jovic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.

– Very well done away game. At first, we were the best team. They had a lot of possession but we were the most dangerous team and had the biggest chances. Then we opened the second half a bit weak, and they created some dangerous situations. We adjusted it, but not to the same degree. Then they let go of a few ideas, and then they don’t create much, Solbakken concluded.

– Then we’re a little inaccurate so we don’t get a puncture.

Penalty call

In the 60th minute, Serbia shouted for a penalty when Tadic went through a duel with Alexander Sørloth. Mitrovic was shown a yellow card for standing on the ball and blocking an opponent’s quick free kick after 80 minutes.

In the 78th minute there was a VAR check when the Serbs wanted a penalty to hand, but again they were denied.

Serbia won corner kick statistics 12-0, but Norway fought back. The players don’t just win duels and play until the cramp takes them. They ran out of time, lay down and won a match they agreed they would lose not too long ago.

– I feel like this is a result we wouldn’t have a few years ago. “We were able to win the game in a slightly ugly and cynical way, and that shows that we have taken a step,” said Martin degaard in the interview zone.

Warming up

Serbia never comes out to warm up before a game. Norway were the healthiest from the start, and in the first ten minutes Norway had more than 60 per cent of possession. However, after ten minutes, the home side ended their warm-up and took over the baton. Possessions equalized quickly, and at half-time, Serbia was more than 60 per cent.

Norway seem to enjoy defending themselves in a tight 4-5-1 formation and prefer to counter-attack, as Serbia mentioned earlier. Leo Stigård and Stefan Strandberg blocked the posts from Lazovic and Filip Kostic, and kept them from reaching Mitrovic.

– He’s a bit like a kangaroo, Strandberg said of his partner jumping into the air and nodding again and again.

Not too dangerous in front of the Norwegian goal before halftime. However, it happened on the other side of the pitch, only when Mohamed Elyounoussi in the 18th minute won the aerial duel and stunned Haaland alone. He was completely free, but shot badly and saw his finish fly high above and well beyond the goal.

Revenge

Then came the Norwegian lead goal, which forced the home side to increase the intensity. After 33 minutes, the home team’s left-hand defensive error allowed rjan Nyland to get past it. He moved to the side, pushed and slid the ball over the side line. Serbia took the throw quickly, and Uusimaa couldn’t get back into the net until the life-threatening goalpost almost went into the net.

Serbia took several chances in the final quarter, when Mitrovic finally ended the game without hitting a good enough punch. After the break, Nyland more than made up for his poor first-half involvement, with a super save that took the lead.

Haaland was replaced by Morten Thorsby as Norway held on to the lead with beak and claws, and it held up all the way.

As such, there is also revenge for one of the most bitter defeats of this generation of the Norwegian national team and the perfect start to Sunday’s away game against Sweden. But there are a lot of tired feet to take care of.