Norway's Erling Haland Breaks U-20 World Cup Record With 9 Goals vs. Honduras
Norwegian striker Erling Haland set a record on Thursday with nine goals against Honduras in a group-stage match at the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland.
The 18-year-old kicked off his scoring with a goal in the seventh minute, tallying four by halftime. He added a pair of scores in the final 10 minutes before ending the matchup with nine of Norway's 12 goals in the blowout victory over a Honduras side that ended the match with nine players.
Thursday's win also marked the largest margin of victory in FIFA U-20 history. Norway is now 1–2–0 in the 2020 World Cup. It lost to Uruguay on May 24 and New Zealand on May 27 but will be hopeful of advancing as one of the top four third-place finishers in the six-group tournament. Its goal differential sits at +8 after Thursday's rout.
Haland, who broke the previous record of six goals in a single game set by Brazil's Adailton in 1997, is the son of former Leeds and Man City defender Alf-Inge Haland. The younger Haland currently plays for Red Bull Salzburg, previously scoring 20 goals in 50 appearances for Norwegian club Molde. His nine-goal performance would have been good enough to win the golden boot at 19 of the past 21 FIFA U-20 World Cup competitions.