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Spain qualified for next year's European Championships with a 1-0 win against Norway with Erling Haaland failing to impress.
La Roja crucially secured all three points thanks to Gavi's 49th-minute goal. The Barcelona wonderkid reacted quickly in the box to fire past Norweigan goalkeeper Orjan Haskjold Nyland.
Alvaro Morata had the ball in the back of the net in the 20th minute after poor defending from Norway's Stefan Strandberg. The Atletico Madrid frontman seized upon Strandberg's mistake to slot home.
However, German referee Tobias Stieler headed to the pitchside monitor to review the goal. He ruled that Morata was offside when played the ball by Dani Carvajal but he didn't affect Strandberg's attempted clearance. Spain were enraged with the decision which is bound to lead to more arguments about VAR.
Haaland finally came into the game in the 39th minute when he did well to find teammate Birger Meling. However, the Copenhagen left-back's cross was easily claimed by La Roja goalkeeper Unai Simon.
There was a long check after Gavi's winner as VAR weighed up whether Morata had been offside during the goal. However, this time Spain were awarded the goal much to the delight of Luis de la Fuente's men.
Morata thought he'd put the game to bed in the 84th minute when he dinked the ball over Nyland. However, the ball was cleared off the line much to the agony of the in-form Atleti striker.
It needn't matter though as Spain marched to next year's European Championships in Germany. They were much the better side on the night and it was somewhat of an underwhelming showing from Haaland.
One fan took aim at the Manchester City superstar for his lackluster display by insisting he doesn't deserve comparisons with Kylian Mbappe:
"Comparing Haaland to Mbappe is disrespectful."
Another fan lavished praise on La Roja's match winner Gavi:
"Gavi carrying spain as usual."
Here's how fans on X (formerly Twitter) reacted as De la Fuente's men qualified for Euro 2024:
Haaland won't be at Euro 2024 following Norway's defeat to Spain
Haaland won't be on the plane to next year's European Championships after Norway lost. The defeat means Scotland and La Roja are the teams from Group A that have qualified.
It's disappointing for the City superstar who also missed the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He has quickly become one of world football's greatest strikers since moving to the Etihad from Borussia Dortmund in 2022.
Yet, he's been unable to help Norway reach a major international tournament during his international career. He's managed 27 goals and three assists in 27 caps.
