IMAGE: Norway's Erling Haaland needed three stitches after getting a cut on his lip following a bizarre bus accident. Photograph: Erling Haaland/X
Despite a bizarre bus accident requiring stitches for a lip cut, Erling Haaland came up with a stunning performance, smashing five goals in Norway's 11-1 rout of Moldova in the World Cup qualifier match, in Oslo, on Tuesday.
Haaland needed three stitches after getting a cut on his lip before the match.
'Just got banged out by a bus door 3 stitches,'
the Manchester City striker said on Snapchat.
Haaland, 24, scored Norway's second, third, fourth, sixth and 10th goals to equal Norway's biggest victory margin in a competitive game.
This is the biggest win in the current World Cup qualifying cycle in Europe, surpassing Netherland's 8-0 victory against Malta in June.
This is the second biggest all-time European qualification record, behind West Germany's 12-0 win against Cyprus in 1969.
Moldova, ranked 154th in the world, has lost all five of its qualifying games conceding a total 25 goals, while scoring only three.