E. Haaland: I was motivated by an Italian who grabbed my backside.

2025-11-17 17:00 © Reuters

The Norwegian national team made a splash as they advanced to the World Cup, crushing Italy 4-1 in their last group qualification match away.

After the match, the guest team's leader Erling Haaland, who scored two goals, revealed that he was motivated by the unsportsmanlike behavior of Italian defender Gianluca Mancini.

The latter tried to stay "glued" to his opponent throughout the match, tugging at his hair and not shying away from physical contact.

"With the score at 1-1, he started grabbing my backside and I thought, 'What are you doing?'"

Getting even angrier motivated me more, and I said, 'Thanks for the motivation, now hold on.'

I scored two goals, we won 4-1, and now all that's left is to thank him.'

Erling Haaland 🆚 Mancini

😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/ajgNDi23Dy

— FootballWTF (@FootballWTF247) November 17, 2025