Norway coach Stale Solbakken says he wouldn’t swap Man City’s ‘goal-scoring machine’ and Norwegian striker Erling Braut Haaland for anybody. With excitement, appreciation and admiration, he showered praise on the 25-year-old following his stunning performance in the World Cup.

The highlight was the winner notched by Haaland in the 86th minute, which secured his country’s ticket to the Round of 16 against Ivory Coast as they ended the game with a 2-1 win against the latter, which was played on Tuesday, June 30, at Dallas Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

With his goal against Ivory Coast, it brings the total number of goals scored in the World Cup after three matches to 5, just one behind football legend Lionel Messi in the race for the tournament Golden Boot.

This has earned him accolades from Solbakken, who has described him as

"...the greatest goal scorer in the world, there is no doubt about that. Today he didn't have much involvement, but he had a big chance in the first half and then scored the goal in the game. He is out of this world. To score five goals in three games at a World Cup for a little country like Norway is amazing, so all credit to him. And no, I wouldn't swap him for anyone.

"He brings calm and a coldness to the team when you have a player like him. I actually think he is very underrated in terms of holding the ball up. He didn't lose the ball once today, and that brings so much to the team".

I know he feels proud to be part of this, playing for his country, but he also knows this is a team that works together and he needs service from his teammates”, he indicated.

Norway face Brazil on Sunday having never previously lost to the five-time World Cup winners in four previous meetings. But Solbakken said he would not focus on Brazil until the dust has settled on the win against Ivory Coast, Norway's first ever knockout win at the World Cup.

"You win a match in the KO phase of a top tournament against a major team, historians are better at ranking this than I am, but it's the first time Norway has won a KO game, and that is a historic performance for us. "We will talk about Brazil later and let that rest for today, though. I wouldn't like to go into analysing new matches.

"We know that they are the favourites, but it is not about Brazil today; it is about the Ivory Coast and us."

Meanwhile, last year, Haaland broke and set a new record after notching his fiftieth (50) Champions League goal.

He snatched the spot of fastest player to reach 50 UEFA Champions League goals from the legendary Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, who achieved the milestone in 62 appearances.

However, in Haaland’s case, he has achieved it in 42 appearances, covering van Nistelrooy’s record by a stunning 13-match margin.

He notched the fiftieth UEFA goal after lofting a header following an assist from Phil Foden in the fifty-sixth minute during Man City’s clash with Napoli yesterday, Thursday, September 18.