On a night the north of Europe will never forget, Erling Haaland did more than lead Norway to victory. He seized the crown from Sweden's immortal legend and declared himself the new, incomparable king of Scandinavia.
The Norwegian striker's brace fired his national team to a 3-2 win over traditional rivals Denmark in the UEFA Nations League. It also broke the record held by Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimovic as the best international goalscorer in the history of northern Europe's national teams.
Those two goals took Haaland to 64 international goals in just 56 matches, surpassing Ibrahimovic's 62 goals in 122 matches for Sweden. It is a paradox that lays bare the scale of the goalscoring phenomenon the Manchester City striker has become, according to "Reuters".
His second goal of the night arrived in the 74th minute. It handed Norway their first official win over Denmark in the history of direct meetings, ended a long-standing hoodoo, and crowned him the most dangerous man in Scandinavia.
A talent that cannot be taught
Stale Solbakken, the Norway head coach, could find no words to explain what his striker does. "It cannot be explained, and it cannot be learned, it is an innate talent, it is instinct," he said after the match.
Now 26, Haaland made his senior international debut in 2019 and scores at a terrifying rate of more than 1.1 goals per match. No footballing logic can stand against a figure like that.
Team-mate Sander Berge could barely contain his amazement. "It is astonishing. It is natural for Haaland to score goals, so it makes sense for him to be among the best goalscorers, but it remains extremely moving," the midfielder said.
Surpassing the phenomenon
The achievement did not stop at the Nordic borders. Haaland also overtook Brazilian great Ronaldo Nazario, who ended his international career with 62 goals before retiring in 2011.
He now sits just 24 goals shy of the absolute Nordic record for men and women, held by Sweden's women's legend Lotta Schelin on 88 goals. For this goalscoring machine, even that looks within reach.
Across the divide, dismay ran through the Danish camp, where everyone acknowledged Haaland's decisive ruthlessness.
Michael Steen Jensen, the sports analyst at Denmark's DR channel, delivered his verdict. "Norway have him, and they should be grateful for that on a night when his absolute ruthlessness earned the Norwegians the right to boast," he said.
Denmark's B.T newspaper ran the headline: "Denmark punished harshly by the most dangerous man in Norway."
Rasmus Hojlund endured a difficult night marking his fellow striker and admitted the danger of his opponent. "Erling has a distinctive way of finding his path to goal. So, from that standpoint, it is not surprising, but at the same time it frustrates me," he said.
Revenge is on the cards. Denmark host Norway in the final round of the group stage of the UEFA Nations League on 17 November, and all eyes will once again be on the new king of the north.