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Norway manager Stale Solbakken has explained that he had no option but to substitute his top scorer, Erling Haaland, during extra-time in their World Cup quarter-final clash against England.

To the astonishment of many spectators, Haaland did not return for the second half of extra-time as Norway’s historic first-ever World Cup quarter-final ended in defeat at the Miami Stadium on Saturday night.

Heading into the match with seven goals already in the World Cup 2026, Haaland was widely expected to spearhead Norway’s push to at least force a penalty shootout against Gareth Southgate’s side.

However, the Manchester City striker was replaced at the break in extra-time, with Crystal Palace forward Jorgen Strand Larsen coming on in his place. Larsen, however, struggled to make any notable impact in the final 15 minutes of the game.

After the match, Solbakken sought to calm concerns that Haaland might have suffered an injury, clarifying that the 25-year-old was simply exhausted after giving his all in the intense Miami heat over 105 minutes of play.

“It was not difficult to take Erling Haaland off. I should have done it ten minutes earlier because he was finished,” Solbakken told reporters.

“He’s had a brilliant World Cup, scoring seven goals, but he completely ran out of energy.”

Haaland looked drained and unable to influence the game in the second half of extra-time as England pushed for victory.

The Norwegian striker had two opportunities to equal Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot standings, but both his headers were comfortably saved by England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

Earlier in the match, Haaland’s push on Elliot Anderson proved costly when Torbjorn Heggem’s header, which would have restored Norway’s lead in the 55th minute, was ruled out after VAR advised referee Clement Turpin to review the incident.

Reflecting on the defeat to England, who advanced courtesy of Jude Bellingham’s brace, Norway captain Martin Odegaard admitted the loss was difficult to take.

“It’s tough. I feel we were so close. We did everything we could. Maybe we sat deep in the first half, but they didn’t create much and we went ahead,” Odegaard said.

“Then we conceded two easy goals and didn’t get much help from the referee. The fine margins went against us, and we had some bad luck.”

“But it’s been amazing, like a fairytale. We can be really proud. The whole world is talking about us — reaching a World Cup quarter-final is a massive achievement. Now we’ve had a taste of it.”