Haaland was limited to 24 touches at Cardiff City Stadium. Anyone who has watched him play will know that is not unusual for the 26-year-old, who can drift in and out of a game around the pitch, only to come alive at key moments in the penalty area.
The more significant statistic is that he only had two shots, with only one on target, a header straight at Wales goalkeeper Danny Ward.
Prevention is better than a cure, and what Wales did effectively on that occasion was to cut off the supply of chances for Norway’s talismanic frontman.
That was no mean feat considering that the Scandinavians’ creator in chief is captain Martin Odegaard, one of the Premier League’s most inventive playmakers and the man who led Arsenal to the title last season.
So as well as the defenders tasked with handling Haaland and his fellow forwards Fulham’s Oscar Bobb and Andreas Schjelderup of Benfica, midfielders such as Ethan Ampadu had crucial roles to play in negating the attacking influence of Odegaard and his midfield colleagues.
“You have to consider the distance between Ethan and Haaland,” Bellamy adds. “You can’t open up the middle too much because balls are going to come into his feet. You have to get your distances right, be side-on and make sure you’re aware of his runs.
“He has the ability to take a team on, but he also has the willingness to make those runs.
“It’s also important how we use the ball. If we use it well, develop our possession and move up the pitch, he has to work. He has to run and get back.”
Since Bellamy took charge in the summer of 2024, Wales’ average share of possession in matches has rocketed.
They have had to make do with less of the ball in this Nations League campaign against Norway, Portugal and Denmark – and Bellamy believes his side could improve in that regard.
He has said Wales will be going “all out” for victory in Oslo on Saturday and, if they can stay on the front foot and make Norway defend, that is certainly one way of keeping Haaland out of the game.
“You have to be on it against these teams because they have many individual players who can create something out of nothing,” says Dan James, who scored Wales’ first goal in the 2-1 win.
“Our distances [between players] were really good. Odegaard is a unique player. He’ll get the ball anywhere so it’s hard as a defence. They want you to jump out and I think they showed that with their goal with the ball for Oscar Bobb and he’s finished it well.
“We showed our resilience and it was about limiting their chances and I thought we did that.
“Odegaard played some great balls in behind but, to the very last minute, we defended really well, not just the defenders but the whole unit, from the forwards back.
“I thought we defended really well on the day, and we’ve got to be great again on Saturday.”
Wales will be forced into at least one change in Oslo, with Swansea City centre-back Ben Cabango – who got Haaland’s shirt after the game in Cardiff – missing through suspension.
The good news for Wales is that first-choice centre-back Joe Rodon, who was injured for the previous game, is available after returning for Leeds United last weekend.
“Ben Cabango and Ben Davies have both done really well against him [Haaland], but the work has to be done in front of them. If it isn’t, you expose the defenders,” Bellamy says.
“Against this type of player, it doesn’t matter how good an individual defender is. We’ve seen over the last four or five years how difficult it becomes for one player to cope with what Haaland brings.”
Taking on Haaland alone is not advisable. If you face the challenge together, however, as Wales showed just a month ago, you can stop the seemingly unstoppable.
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