Norway coach Solbakken says Haaland ‘thoroughly spent’ after gruelling run of games

Erling Haaland will only have six days to recover before returning to action with Manchester City in the Premier League. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Norway head coach Stale Solbakken said that his star striker Erling Haaland was “thoroughly spent” after a run of matches with the Nordic nation and his club Manchester City.

Haaland was subbed off in the second half of Norway's 1-2 defeat against Portugal in the UEFA Nations League on Sunday. “He was simply thoroughly spent,” Norway manager ‌Stale ⁠Solbakken said of Haaland’s condition.

“Some of my players have only had ⁠six or seven days of holiday. And you do not live off your physical condition in a normal job. Then it is straight into the start of the season, followed by ​a mini-tournament, so it is ‌an extreme strain. He’s in the group that carries the heaviest workload — precisely because his team (Manchester City) plays in every tournament and he’s the main man,” Solbakken added.

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Norway midfielder Patrick Berg shared his manager’s thoughts saying, “He (Haaland) has played all three (Norway) games before this one, ​so it’s not that shocking his strength finally ran out,” Berg said.

The 26-year-old striker will have only six days to recover ​before City resumes its Premier League campaign against Liverpool on Sunday.