Stephen Halliday: Scotland must beware Leeds-born striker

Not Oli McBurnie but Norway’s deadly Erling Haaland

Norway's Erling Haaland celebrates scoring against Northern Ireland. Picture: Peter Morrison/AP

Oli McBurnie is not the only Leeds-born striker who will be featuring heavily in Steve Clarke’s thoughts ahead of the Euro 2020 play-offs next month.

For as he ponders whether McBurnie should return to his side for the semi-final against Israel, the Scotland head coach will also be acutely aware of the threat Erling Haaland may pose to his team in the final should they get there.

Haaland, below, born in the Yorkshire city when his dad Alf-Inge was playing for Leeds United, was in devastating form on Monday night with his two-goal contribution to Norway’s 5-1 win in Northern Ireland.

It was a display which underlined the huge potential of the 20-year-old Borussia Dortmund striker and would cause any member of the Tartan Army to come out in a cold sweat when contemplating how much 
havoc he could create against Scotland’s shaky defence in Oslo on 12 November.

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