Haaland scores a hat-trick against Israel but misses two penalties

Erling Haaland is capable of both brilliance and blunders. The Norwegian striker was the absolute protagonist in the World Cup 2026 qualifier between Norway and Israel, held in Oslo. Just 3 minutes into the match, Polish referee Szymon Marciniak awarded a penalty after a VAR review for a foul by Dan Biton on Patrick Berg. Haaland took responsibility and shot with his left foot, but Israeli goalkeeper Daniel Peretz guessed correctly and saved it.

However, the VOR room reviewed the kick and it had to be retaken because the goalkeeper had moved forward. On the second attempt, the Norwegian striker decided to shoot with his right foot, but once again Peretz dived to his left to save the penalty. Interestingly, although Haaland is a prolific scorer, he has already missed nine penalties out of the 61 he has taken throughout his career.

The double error did not prevent Haaland from staying focused and maintaining his usual hunger for goals. In the 27th minute, he scored Norway's second goal in a play where the ball entered the net with a joint touch between the striker and an Israeli defender, but UEFA credited the goal to the Manchester City forward.

Three minutes later, Haaland was involved in the third goal. A pass from him was intercepted by the defender, but in the goalkeeper's attempt to clear, the ball rebounded off a teammate and ended up in the net.

Haaland scored Norway's fourth goal in the 62nd minute. A cross from the side was met with a perfect header to secure his brace. But there was still the fifth goal to complete his hat-trick. Another cross to the far post was converted into the back of the net to seal a five-goal victory.

The Manchester City striker's numbers at the start of this season are extraordinary, even for him. With the hat-trick achieved this Saturday with Norway, he has scored 21 goals in just 12 matches, across all competitions for both club and country.

Nine of these goals have come in domestic competition, with five scored in September, earning him the Premier League Player of the Month award.

With this victory, the team led by Erling Haaland is well on track for direct qualification to next year's World Cup. They have amassed 18 points in 6 matches, with a perfect record that sees them leading Group I, leaving Italy in second place.