Maybe the English Premier League teams struggling to contain Erling Haaland should consider employing the 5-4-1 formation that Kazakhstan used against Norway on Friday.
Kazakhstan’s yellow-clad defenders swarmed around Haaland for the full 90 minutes of a 0-0 draw in the Nations League and kept the striker scoreless following his consecutive hat tricks in the Premier League.
Haaland failed to hit the target with any of his four shots during a match in which Norway had 65% of the possession and produced 19 shots to Kazakhstan’s four.
Haaland has seven goals in three Premier League matches for Manchester City this season and hadn’t been held scoreless for nearly a month — since City won the Community Shield in a penalty shootout over Manchester United on Aug. 10. Haaland did find the target in the shootout of the Community Shield, though.
Haaland has been the joint top scorer with six goals in each of the past two editions of the Nations League. Overall, he has 31 goals in 34 matches for Norway.
He still needs two more goals to match Norway record-holder Jørgen Juve, who scored 33 from 1928-37.
On Wednesday, Haaland was among the 30 players nominated for the Ballon d’Or.
Norway is in League B of the Nations League, in a group with Austria and Slovenia, who drew 1-1 after both sides advanced to the knockout stages of the European Championship
Italian style
Italy turned on the style to beat France 3-1 in Paris for the first time in 70 years.
After Bradley Barcola put France ahead 13 seconds in, Italy struck back with goals from Federico Dimarco, Davide Frattesi and Giacomo Raspadori.
Barcola’s first international goal came after Italy full back Giovanni Di Lorenzo lost possession, allowing Barcola to advance on goal and shoot past the onrushing Gianluigi Donnarumma.
DiMarco’s equalizer was an extraordinary angled volley into the far corner following an exchange with Sandro Tonali, who provided the assist with a backheel flick.
Frattesi scored his sixth goal in 20 appearances — impressive production for a midfielder— by redirecting a cross from Mateo Retegui.
Then Raspadori, a substitute, sealed it by concluding a counterattack.
Spalletti’s youth movement
After losing to Switzerland in the round of 16 at Euro 2024, Italy coach Luciano Spalletti eliminated over-30 players like Francesco Acerbi, Jorginho, Matteo Darmian and Stephan El Shaarawy from his squad.
Dimarco is 26 and Frattesi and Raspadori are 24.
“It was not easy to get back on track after the Euros,” Dimarco said. “We needed this victory to raise the morale of the team.”
De Bruyne brace
Kevin De Bruyne scored twice for Belgium in a 3-1 win over Israel in neutral Hungary.
De Bruyne put Belgium ahead after being set up by his Manchester City clubmate Jeremy Doku and converted a second-half penalty.
Youri Tielemans restored Belgium’s advantage following an own goal for Israel by Belgium full back Timothy Castagne.
The game was in Debrecen after the Belgian soccer federation said in July “no local authority in Belgium considers it possible” to stage a game against Israel for security reasons.
League B
Euro 2024 quarterfinalist Turkey was held to 0-0 at Wales after playing the final half hour with 10 men after Baris Alper Yilmaz was sent off for two yellows.
Former Wales captain Craig Bellamy made his debut as Wales coach — his first senior coaching role.
Iceland beat Montenegro 2-0 with goals from Orri Steinn Oskarsson and Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson.
League C
Romania won 3-0 at Kosovo and Cyprus beat Lithuania 1-0.
The European qualifying groups for the 2026 World Cup will be drawn in Zurich in December, likely with seedings decided by FIFA world rankings updated in November after Nations League group play ends.
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