Manchester City striker Erling Haaland set a new all-time goalscoring record for Norway at the age of 24 during their Nations League victory over Slovenia.
He scored his 33rd international goal early in the match, equalling the record held by Jorgen Juve, who played in the 1920s and ’30s. Haaland then secured the record outright in the second half with his 34th goal for Norway.
Since making his debut in 2019, Haaland has reached this record in just 36 appearances. In contrast, Juve reached his previous record of 34 goals in his first 27 matches before transitioning to a centre-back role, finishing his career with 45 caps without adding to his goal tally.
After retiring from football, Juve became a newspaper journalist.
Haaland’s record, which stood for 90 years, was matched when he scored by converting a rebound through Jan Oblak’s legs. He captained the national team in the absence of the injured Martin Odegaard.
The striker broke the long-standing record with a first-time shot from 16 yards, finishing the match with 10 attempts, seven of which were on target. Alexander Sorloth also found the net for Norway.
Following the match, Haaland posted a photo on social media of him with the ball under his shirt, along with a baby emoji and the word “soon,” suggesting that his partner, Isabel, is expecting.
While Haaland’s total of 34 goals is modest compared to Cristiano Ronaldo’s 132 international goals for Portugal or Lionel Messi’s 109 for Argentina—and even below Harry Kane’s 68 for England and Robbie Keane’s 68 for the Republic of Ireland—it still surpasses the totals of many other nations’ top scorers. In Scotland, for instance, both Kenny Dalglish and Denis Law have 30 goals each.
Some of Haaland’s other records…
Haaland has already reached many goalscoring landmarks in his club career – hitting 236 goals for Molde, Salzburg, Borussia Dortmund and City.
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His record 100th goal for Manchester City – in his 105th game – 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.
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He holds the record for most Premier League goals in a season – the 36 he managed in 2022-23.
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In Germany, he became the youngest player to ever hit 50 Bundesliga goals – aged 21 – and needed the fewest games to do it (50).
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He reached 40 Champions League goals in 35 games, 10 fewer than Ruud van Nistelrooy, the previous record holder.