Oslo, Oct 11: Erling Haaland became Norway's all-time leading goalscorer when he grabbed a brace against Slovenia in a 3-0 win in their Nations League match at Ullevaal.

The Norwegian, who made his national team debut in 2019, has only taken 36 games to reach the record mark.

Haaland equalled Jorgen Juve's goal record of 33 national team goals when he sent Norway into the lead after seven minutes. Slovenia's goalkeeper Jan Oblak first saved the finish from Antonio Nusa before Haaland tapped in the rebound from the corner of the five-meter before.

Forward Alexander Sorloth doubled the advantage soon after the restart. Then Haaland made it three with his second on the hour, breaking his nation’s male goalscoring record.

"It was a big moment. It is a record that has stood for a long time. I am proud and happy and I just want to thank everyone around me, my teammates, and the entire association for their support. I really appreciate it and am very happy," said Haaland after the match.

The victory against Slovenia sent Norway to the top of the Nations League group. Norway has seven points after the first three games, three points more than Austria and Slovenia in the places behind. Kazakhstan is last with one point.

Besides records in national team records, he has already reached many goalscoring landmarks in his club career. He equalled Cristiano Ronaldo's record at Real Madrid of fewest games needed to reach a century for a team from Europe's top five leagues when he scored his 100th goal for Manchester City – in his 105th game.

The 24-year-old holds the record for most Premier League goals in a season - the 36 he recorded in 2022-23 season. Moreover, he has scored 42 goals in just 41 UEFA Champions League appearances, rewriting the record books in the process.

(IANS)

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