Erling Haaland had a rough night for Norway, and perhaps didn’t respond in the best way.

The usually unstoppable Manchester City striker was not only quiet on the pitch, but also in front of the media, garnering him a barrage of criticism.

Haaland and a rough night, and didn’t want to talk about it afterGetty

Norway were hammered 5-1 by Ralf Rangnick’s Austria in the Nations League – their heaviest defeat since a 6-0 World Cup qualifying loss to Germany in 2017.

Haaland was again captain in the absence of Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard, but had a poor night, recording only two shots – both off target – while only ten of his 17 passes found a teammate.

The match came just three days after Haaland netted twice against Slovenia to become his nation’s all-time top scorer, and then he was only too happy to speak to the media.

This time, though, he was seen darting out of the media pen in no time, refusing to discuss the heavy defeat.

The snub led to plenty of criticism in Norway, with former national team striker turned pundit Rune Bratseth commenting: “Normal procedure is for the captain to stand tall and answer for such downfalls.

“It is precisely on days like this that you have to stand there and answer. It’s just the way it is, and especially when things don’t go well.”

On Monday morning, more media met Haaland at the airport in Linz to see if he’d speak, but only got the answer ‘no’ before he boarded his private jet back to Manchester.

Instead, Haaland opted to address supporters directly, using his social media platform.

He wrote to his 39 million Instagram followers: “Sorry everyone, this was way too bad from my side. In November we’re going for six points.”

Norway are in Nations League group B, and looked good for promotion before the humbling defeat to Austria.

TV2Haaland wouldn’t talk in the media pen[/caption]

dagbladetAnd again refused to speak at the airport[/caption]

The country is entering a new golden era with Haaland and Odegaard leading the way, while they possess a number of other rated talents like Leipzig’s Antonio Nusa and Atletico Madrid’s Alexander Sorloth, who scored again versus Austria.

However, they haven’t qualified for a major tournament since the 2000 European Championships, and will surely need more from Haaland if they’re to make the 2026 World Cup.