Arabic version: هالاند يركز مع النرويج قبل مباراة ويلز

According to BBC News, Erling Haaland has been unaffected by the verdict against Manchester City as Norway prepare to face Wales in Cardiff on Thursday. The striker trained normally at Cardiff City Stadium on Wednesday evening after being kept away from the media around Norway’s Nations League defeat by Portugal on Sunday.

Manchester City were found to have breached financial rules across nine seasons, with the last of those seasons four years before Haaland joined the club in 2022. City continue to deny wrongdoing. Haaland is expected to play his first match since the Premier League confirmation when Norway meet Wales in Nations League Group A4 at 19:45 BST.

Norway manager Stale Solbakken gave little away when asked about the forward, describing him as “very good” and “scoring goals”. Solbakken said Haaland missed one opportunity against Portugal that he would usually have taken, but declined to discuss private conversations with the player.

Brentford defender Kristoffer Ajer said Haaland had shown no change in the national-team camp. Ajer said the forward remained focused on the upcoming matches and brought energy and joy to the group. He added that Haaland had stayed the same since they first met despite becoming “the biggest star on the planet right now”.

Haaland scored in Norway’s 2-1 loss to Portugal and twice in their 3-2 victory over Denmark, taking his international record to 65 goals in 57 appearances. Norway captain Martin Odegaard also trained in Cardiff. Solbakken praised Wales manager Craig Bellamy’s “modern ideas”, while Ajer predicted a tough contest between two sides with similar work ethic.