Haaland 'no different' as Norway prepare for Wales amid Manchester City verdict
Norway camp says striker remains focused despite club headlines
Erling Haaland has been unaffected by the "sham contract" verdict against Manchester City, according to the Norway camp he has been with since the news broke.
Haaland will play for the first time since the Premier League’s confirmation of City’s financial rule breaches when Norway take on Wales in Cardiff on Thursday, 19:45 BST. The forward was kept away from the media before and after Norway’s Nations League defeat by Portugal on Sunday after reports of City’s guilty verdict first emerged, and was not put in front of the cameras as the World Cup quarter-finalists arrived in Wales amid headlines over his club.
Manchester City, who continue to deny any wrongdoing, were found to have broken financial rules over nine seasons, the last of which was four years before Haaland signed for the club in 2022. He is seen as City’s biggest star.
Training as normal in Cardiff
Haaland trained as normal at Cardiff City Stadium on Wednesday evening. Brentford defender Kristoffer Ajer said the forward had been "no different" since the news broke.
"He’s been exactly the way he’s always the same with the national team," Ajer said. "He’s truly focused on the upcoming games. I think he’s trying to do the same as everyone else, wait and see what the outcome is – but right now the main focus is Wales tomorrow night. That’s clearly been his way of doing it."
Asked if he had seen a difference in Haaland since the news broke, the 59-cap defender said: "No not at all. Ever since I met him brings lot of energy and joy to the group. The biggest compliment I always give is that he hasn’t changed a bit from the moment I met him even though he’s the biggest star on the planet right now. He’s been exactly the same the last few days as well which is not a surprise for me."
Solbakken keeps comments private
Manager Stale Solbakken attempted to deflect questions, tersely saying Haaland was "very good" and "scoring goals" before admitting he did miss one chance against Portugal he would normally have finished.
Asked if he had to speak to the forward because of the extra focus, Solbakken replied: "What we speak about is between him and me."
Haaland, who has 65 goals in 57 international appearances for Norway, scored in the 2-1 defeat by Portugal in Oslo and twice in the 3-2 win over Denmark. He could link up with Arsenal midfielder Martin Odegaard for Norway and trained in Cardiff after the challenge from former Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva that was the subject of criticism on Friday night.
Wales v Norway preview
The Nations League Group A4 fixture is at Cardiff City Stadium on Thursday, 1 October, 19:45 BST, live on BBC iPlayer, BBC Two Wales, BBC Sounds, BBC Radio Wales, Radio Cymru and 5 Live, BBC Sport website and app.
Solbakken praised Wales manager Craig Bellamy’s impact despite a winless run of six, saying he has "modern ideas" and suggested the side are low in confidence after missing out on a place in the summer’s World Cup following a play-off defeat on penalties to Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Ajer added he could see similarities between the sides: "It’s a similar population and the same work ethic from both countries. So obviously we followed that journey Wales were on [in 2016] and obviously it was nice that it was our turn, so we’re expecting a very, very tough game tomorrow with two equal sides that are playing the same kind of football."