Haaland surpasses Ronaldo, Ibrahimović goal records ahead of Norway vs Portugal clash

Manchester City attacker, Erling Haaland has now surpassed two football greats, Brazil’s Ronaldo Nazário and Sweden’s Zlatan Ibrahimović, in terms of international career goals.

Haaland achieved the feat on Friday in Norway’s 3-2 win over Denmark ahead of their next encounter with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in the UEFA Nations League.

The Manchester City forward demonstrated his continued importance to his nation against Denmark, delivering a performance that exemplified his rapid ascent through the international goalscoring rankings.

Haaland netted twice during Norway’s 3-2 victory over Denmark, demonstrating resilience after the team’s initial two-goal advantage was cancelled out before Norway ultimately secured all three points.

 The triumph also represented the national team’s first competitive victory over Denmark, with Haaland providing the crucial goals when his nation needed him most.

Norway took an early lead through Oscar Bobb in the 14th minute, and Haaland extended the advantage four minutes later.

Haaland has now scored 64 goals in 56 international appearances for Norway, giving him an international scoring average of more than 1.1 goals per match. 

This achievement puts him ahead of Brazilian legend Ronaldo Nazário and Swedish icon Zlatan Ibrahimović, both of whom ended their international careers with 62 goals.

The Manchester City forward needed just 56 matches to reach a tally that took Ronaldo 98 appearances and Ibrahimović 122.

Haaland will have this achievement in mind as Norway prepares to face Portugal in their next Nations League game.

Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese captain, has established himself as one of the most prolific goalscorers in international football history.

Ronaldo remains the all-time leading scorer in men’s international football, with 146 goals.