Moldova’s shell–shocked goalkeeper Cristian Avram has revealed that Erling Haaland apologised to him after he shipped 11 goals against Norway on Tuesday night.
Haaland ruthlessly struck five goals past Avram during Norway’s 11–1 thumping of Moldova, putting his country six points clear of Italy at the top of their World Cup qualifying group.
If conceding five to Haaland wasn’t bad enough, the goalkeeper also watched Felix Horn Myhre, Martin Odegaard and Thelo Aasgaard — who netted four as a substitute — score goals against him.
Despite chalking up an unassailable lead early on, Norway were determined to extend their advantage until the final whistle, with Haaland often seen picking the ball out of Avram’s net in pursuit of more goals.
The goalkeeper has now shared that the Manchester City striker came over to apologise to him personally after the thrashing, offering a display of respect.
‘He said it wasn’t my fault,’ Avram revealed after the match. ‘He was apologising to me for rushing after every goal. He said they had to keep going because of the goal difference.’
Man City’s Erling Haaland scored five goals as Norway thrashed Moldova 11-1 on Tuesday night
Moldova’s goalkeeper Cristian Avram (right, pictured on Instagram with Italy legend Gianluigi Buffon) has revealed that Haaland apologised to him after the match in a display of respect
Haaland is hoping to fire Norway to their first World Cup since 1998 with his goal scoring
Norway, who have not participated at a World Cup since 1998, took a huge step towards qualification after the 11-1 humiliation, now with 16 more goal difference than Italy below them.
With just four qualifiers left, the Azzurri are six points behind Norway, who have played five out of the eight matches in total.
Meanwhile, Israel are also on nine points with inferior goal difference to Italy, having played five games.
Finishing top of the qualifying group will automatically earn Norway a place at the 2026 World Cup next summer, while the runners-up will enter a precarious playoff.
Moldova sit rock bottom of Group I with zero points accumulated and minus 22 goal difference, with Tuesday’s defeat the latest disappointment of their nightmare qualifying campaign.
Manager Serghei Clescenco furiously pointed the blame at his own players after the 11-1 thumping, which marked the biggest loss in Moldova’s history following an 8-0 defeat by Denmark in 2018.
‘It’s a shame for us. I don’t have much more to say. Each player has their own answer,’ he said.
‘They say they haven’t slept well and that we play too complicated. The players can say a lot, they all answer differently, but they don’t answer what I ask.
Norway sit at the top of their World Cup qualifying group, a sizeable six points ahead of Italy
Moldova manager’s furiously blamed his own players and stormed out of his press conference
‘That’s all I have to say,’ Clescenco added, before storming out of the post-match press conference.
In a very different interview after the match, Haaland cheerily spoke of his astonishing record for Norway, which now stands at 45 goals in 48 international matches.
Asked if it’s ‘wild’ to be scoring at a rate of almost a goal a game this far into his Norway career, the Man City striker said: ‘I completely agree. It was a great game.
‘We fought until the end. It was a historic night.’
