But the moment Theodore Bjorn stopped the ball, Saúl appeared right in front of him.
This Atlético Madrid midfielder was like Theodore's shadow.
No matter where Theodore Bjorn received the ball on the pitch, Saúl always managed to appear in front of him at the first moment, disrupting his play.
Theodore had had enough of Saúl's harassing defense.
This time, Theodore Bjorn didn't hold back against Saúl.
He fully utilized Bastian Schweinsteiger's physicality, forcing a shoulder-to-shoulder challenge with Saúl.
Currently, Theodore's physicality had reached 86, clearly stronger than Saúl's.
With Theodore's sudden burst of strength, the Spanish midfielder completely lost control of his body's balance.
Thud.
Saúl stumbled and nearly fell to the ground.
After dealing with Saúl's interference, Theodore didn't hesitate and immediately passed the ball.
He glanced toward the Spanish penalty area.
Seeing Haaland jostling for position with Sergio Ramos, he immediately delivered a cross—a high cross.
However, just as he made the pass, he suddenly remembered something very important.
That was, Haaland's heading ability at this stage was quite average... far from the level he would achieve later in his career.
Of course, even then, Haaland's heading ability wasn't his most outstanding attribute.
Theodore's cross landed perfectly on Haaland's head.
Haaland had already leaped into the air in front of the goal.
His jumping ability was truly terrifying.
And his physical attributes were exceptional, even against a top defender like Ramos, he didn't fall behind at all.
He even won the first ball under Ramos's interference.
However, Haaland's subsequent header sent the ball flying over the crossbar and out of bounds.
Just as Theodore had thought, Haaland's heading ability was quite average.
"Ah!" Martin Tyler exclaimed on the Sky Sports broadcast. "Haaland, standing at 193 cm, actually headed the ball over. Norway missed a golden opportunity to equalize. Theodore Bjorn's pass was excellent. It landed perfectly on Haaland's head, and Haaland even had the upper hand against Ramos, but unfortunately, his header sailed over the crossbar."
Gary Neville couldn't help but comment.
"This Haaland, although his physical attributes are outstanding, he uses too much force when heading the ball, and his positioning is off—he hit the bottom of the ball. He's still young. Haaland's heading needs more refinement."
Inside the penalty area, after Haaland's header helped Spain clear the ball, his face was filled with disappointment.
He held his head in his hands, unable to believe his earlier header.
"Theo!" Haaland called out. "Great pass. It was my fault."
Haaland quickly raised his hand toward Theodore to apologize.
In the following moments of the match, the Spanish midfielders began intentionally controlling the tempo.
The match had reached the 80th minute.
Only ten minutes remained until the final whistle. As the leading side, Spain didn't want any complications.
Coach Robert Moreno gestured to his players from the sidelines with both hands pressed downward, clearly signaling to slow down the pace of the game.
Keep the ball at the feet of the Spanish players.
Use continuous passing and possession to run down the final ten minutes.
Seeing this, Norway's head coach Lars Lagerbäck grew frantic with anxiety.
He immediately rushed to the touchline, passionately shouting at his players to press aggressively.
"Watch the time. We don't have much time left. Hurry up and win the ball back. I know you're tired, but grit your teeth and push through. Victory will surely be ours."
Under the head coach's shouts, Norway's midfielders began pressing the Spanish players like mad dogs.
Among them, Theodore was the most active.
Theodore had only come on after the start of the second half, so his fitness was naturally not an issue.
In addition, Ødegaard was also performing very energetically.
In the 84th minute, Spanish midfielders Busquets, Rodri, and Saúl exchanged quick one-touch passes.
These three players formed a triangular shape in midfield, passing the ball among themselves.
They toyed with the Norwegian players who came to press.
Theodore understood that trying to compete with Spanish players in technical skill would be a dead end.
After all, this was Spain's specialty.
For Norway to win the ball back, they had to fully leverage their own advantage—physicality.
Unlike the other Norwegian players who kept pressing in midfield, Theodore Bjorn chose to lurk behind Busquets.
Born in 1988, Busquets was now 31 years old.
Moreover, Busquets was a starter for Spain. In all likelihood, Busquets' stamina was nearing its limit.
Theodore decided to win the ball from Busquets' feet.
Before long, Theodore got his chance. The mad-dog pressing from Norwegian midfielders Ødegaard and Selnæs paid off.
These two players charged toward Saúl, who had received the ball, as if sprinting a hundred meters.
Seeing Ødegaard and Selnæs suddenly rushing at him, Saúl instinctively passed the ball back to Busquets in the defensive midfield position.
Before Busquets could even receive the ball, Theodore suddenly appeared like a dark shadow, intercepting the ball first.
Busquets was stunned.
He quickly grabbed Theodore's jersey with both hands, trying to stop his dribble with a foul.
But Theodore didn't give Busquets the chance as he unleashed long lofted pass.
In an instant, the ball was sent toward the Spanish penalty area.
The ball perfectly cleared Ramos' head, flying toward the penalty spot.
At that moment, Erling Haaland had already started his run.
He and the other Spanish center-back, Iñigo Martínez, both charged toward where the ball was about to land.
At this moment, Haaland could finally unleash his explosive physicality to its fullest.
Haaland was like a high-speed bulldozer, forcefully shoving Iñigo Martínez aside...
Immediately after, Haaland received Theodore's pass near the penalty spot and unleashed a powerful shot.
The ball flew into the net like a cannonball fired from a tank!
Two-two!
"ERLING HAALAND! OH, WHAT A THUNDERBOLT. ABSOLUTELY UNSTOPPABLE!" Martin Tyler roared, his voice shaking the gantry.
"Erling Haaland, 18 years and eight months old, scores. This is his first goal for the Norwegian national team. Explosive physicality and a shot of immense power. This young striker has become a Norwegian hero tonight. He helped the Nordic equalize the score at 2:2. Norway did not give up! They leveled the score in the 85th minute. Once again, it was a brilliant assist from Theodore Bjorn."
...
Norway.
In Oslo, Xia Dongguo and Marianne Bjorn held each other tightly.
"They equalized. They equalized. It was Theo's assist. Beautiful."
Xia Dongguo couldn't contain his excitement and immediately shared the joy with the customers in the restaurant.
"Did you see the player wearing the number 16 jersey? That's my boy." Xia Dongguo's tone was filled with pride.
When the customers heard that the player was Xia Dongguo's son, they all looked at him with admiration.
"Not bad, Dongguo. I never knew your son was so good. I heard Spain is tough to play against. Your son has real skill."
"Dongguo, when your son returns to Norway, you must get him to sign an autograph for me. Let me show off a bit too."
...
In Valencia, in the stands of the Mestalla Stadium, Spanish fans were disheartened.
Their spirits had hit rock bottom.
"What kind of play is this? They couldn't even defend against an 18-year-old?" "
What a garbage defense. They were torn apart."
"Spain needs to reform. If things continue like this, they'll achieve nothing in the next European Championship."
"To be equalized by Norway. Norway's strength is at best third-rate in Europe."
"Robert Moreno should resign immediately. He's not fit to be the national team's interim head coach."
On the field, Haaland, who had scored the equalizer, was nearly going wild.
He rushed to the corner flag area and celebrated with a knee slide.
On the Sky Sports live Twitter feed, fans also showered Theodore Bjorn and Haaland with praise.
"Incredible. Another assist from Theo. Turning the tide, Theo has already provided two assists in this match."
"A magnificent equalizer. The 17-year-old Theo assisted the 18-year-old Haaland. The future of Norwegian football is limitless."
"Haaland is truly fierce, his impact is like a bull."
"His physicality is genuinely terrifying. He just bulldozed the Spanish center-back."
"Wow. They actually equalized the score? Norway is amazing."
"Theo and Norway's tall striker are practically a perfect match. It feels like Norwegian football is on the verge of a rise."
After finishing his knee-slide celebration, Haaland immediately embraced Theodore Bjorn tightly.
"Thank you, Theo. I knew it. You'd definitely get the ball to me." Haaland's tone was brimming with excitement.
In contrast, Theodore Bjorn remained completely calm.
"Erling, the match isn't over yet. We still have a chance to win. After the restart, keep lurking behind their center-backs. I'll keep feeding you the ball."
Upon hearing Theodore Bjorn's words, Haaland promptly patted his chest and said.
"Don't worry, Theo. As long as you can get the ball to me, I'll definitely score."
After the restart, it was the turn of the home team, Spain, to feel the pressure.
When Morata passed the ball to Rodri in midfield, the Manchester City defensive midfielder didn't hesitate for a second and immediately played the pass.
At this moment, Rodri still chose to pass the ball to Asensio's feet.
Judging by his performance in this match, Asensio is definitely one of Spain's best-performing players.
Rodri chooses to continue trusting Asensio.
In the blink of an eye, Asensio receives the ball on the wing.
His choice is still to cut inside.
But now, Norway's players have already dropped back into their own half.
Just as Asensio is about to showcase his cutting-in talent, Norway's defenders are already applying pressure.
Midfielders Selnæs and Theodore close in from both sides, leaving Asensio with no passing options at all.
Although Asensio is very young, he is not reckless.
Seeing no space to break through, he immediately changes his attacking approach.
Boom.
He directly sends the ball into Norway's penalty area. However, Asensio made this cross with his weaker foot, so the accuracy is somewhat lacking.
Morata, lurking near the goal, fails to reach the ball.
Instead, Norwegian center-back Ajer clears it away.
Martin Tyler, seeing Spain resorting to crosses from the wings, couldn't help but remark.
"Spain is actually resorting to crosses from the wings. That's quite rare. In the final stages of the match, La Roja has abandoned their trademark possession-based play and is frequently delivering crosses from the flanks... It seems Norway has pushed Spain to the brink."
At this moment, the added time has been announced.
Four minutes.
There will be four minutes of added time in the second half.
These four minutes will be the final opportunity for both Spain and Norway.
Whichever team can score during these four minutes will secure a last-gasp victory.
In the stands of the Mestalla Stadium, tens of thousands of Spanish fans look dazed.
Honestly, after Haaland scored the equalizer, the Spanish supporters in the stands lost confidence in the match.
Many Spanish fans have even left early.
However, on the pitch, Spain's players still maintain possession.
In the 92nd minute, Spanish defensive midfielder Busquets opts to pass to Saúl.
After receiving the ball, the Atlético Madrid midfielder faces pressure from Norway's forward Joshua King, who has dropped back into midfield to help defend.
Only the towering Haaland remains on Norway's forward line.
Under Joshua King's pressure, Saúl finds little space to break through and is forced to pass the ball back to the wing, to Rodrigo.
Just as the ball reaches Rodrigo's feet, Theodore Bjorn steps in from behind and pokes the ball away, successfully disrupting the play.
Then, Theodore Bjorn actively engages Rodrigo in a physical duel, forcefully pushing aside the Spanish forward, regaining possession.
"Theodore Bjorn! Once again, Theodore Bjorn steps up at a crucial moment. A game-changing tackle!"
Both Martin Tyler and Gary Neville widen their eyes, closely following everything unfolding on the screen.
Theodore Bjorn doesn't hesitate.
The moment he dispossesses Rodrigo, he immediately glances toward Spain's penalty area.
Erling Haaland has already started accelerating.
The sleeping lion has awakened!
Boom!
Theodore strikes the bottom of the ball with his right foot as the ball arcs beautifully through the air, swiftly curving into Spain's penalty area.
Right at the penalty spot, Haaland, with his back to Ramos, successfully wins the first touch.
Haaland did not choose to head the ball directly towards the goal.
After stopping the ball, he immediately turned around.
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