Haaland has now scored in each of his past 13 competitive appearances for Norway, claiming 25 goals in that run.
Yes, that included filling his boots against Moldova, Israel and Estonia. But Haaland also scored twice in the 4-1 thrashing of Italy to seal Norway’s qualification for a first major tournament since Euro 2000.
Then, at the World Cup, he scored twice to tame the Iraqi threat, before two more to edge Norway past Senegal.
He was rested against France – denying the world a match-up between him and Kylian Mbappe – but was unsurprisingly returned to the XI for the last 32 as one of 10 changes by manager Stale Solbakken and produced a priceless, perfectly timed intervention to settle a tense battle against the Ivorians.
He was not the standout player on the pitch in Dallas. Both Antonio Nusa and Amad Diallo scored much better goals. Until the 86th minute, Haaland was the support act.
He made just 10 passes in Dallas, eight of them successful. He took just 27 touches across the 90 minutes and almost half of them were in his own half.
But, while his goals may not be showy, they are hard-earned through instinct, movement and timing – only six of his Norway goals have been penalties – and as against Ivory Coast they come at just the right time.
As one Norway fan told BBC Sport in Dallas: “He means everything to us. He’s so decisive in moments like this.
“He’s one of the main reasons we qualified in the first place and the reason why we won today. He’s the most important player by far. He’s the greatest player Norway has ever had and probably ever will have.”
“To score five goals in the World Cup in three games, for a little country like Norway, I wouldn’t swap him for anyone,” Solbakken said.
“He’s the greatest goal scorer in the world of football today.”
