Chris Wood v Erling Haaland: All Whites lock in battle of English Premier League stars

Wednesday, 19 February 2025

Chris Wood and Erling Haaland currently sit third and second in the English Premier League golden boot race.

They are set to meet in international football in October, with the All Whites taking on Norway in Oslo – a fixture confirmed on Wednesday.

Wood has 18 goals from 25 matches for Nottingham Forest this season – the best Premier League haul of his career – while Haaland has 19 from 25 for Manchester City – the worst of his.

Chris Wood and Erling Haaland are currently going goal for goal in the English Premier League, where they sit third and second in the golden boot race respectively, looking ahead at Mohammed Salah in first.

Their respective clubs – Nottingham Forest and Manchester City – are due to meet in just over a fortnight’s time, in a match that could be pivotal in the race for a place in next season’s Uefa Champions league.

But they are now also set to meet in the international arena, with a friendly between the All Whites and Norway in Oslo in October announced on Wednesday – one of eight the New Zealand national men’s football team will be hoping to play between June and November.

Wood is having the season of his life aged 33 and has scored 18 goals in 25 appearances for Forest – four more goals than in any of his previous Premier League campaigns.

His overall goals tally from Premier League matches for five different clubs now stands at 87 – the 46-highest mark since the competition began in 1992.

Haaland arrived in the Premier League two seasons ago and scored 36 times in 35 matches as City won the title for the third year in a row.

He then scored 27 goals in 31 matches as they made it an unprecedented four titles in four seasons in 2024, but has only scored 19 times in 25 matches this season, with City struggling for form and out of the title race.

Salah’s Liverpool are the champions in waiting, maintaining a seven-point lead over Arsenal in second with 13 matches to play, largely thanks to the Egyptian’s return of 23 goals from 25 appearances.

Wood and Salah met on the international stage at the 2012 London Olympics but neither was present when the All Whites lost 1-0 to Egypt last March.

The All Whites have only played Norway once, losing 3-0 in a four-team tournament in Australia in January 1997 that also featured South Korea.

Haaland and Norway came up against New Zealand at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Poland in 2019, where a wonder goal from Gianni Stenseness and an own goal gave the Kiwis a 2-0 win.

The striker won the golden boot at that tournament despite Norway not advancing to the knockout stages, as he scored nine in his side’s 12-0 demolition of Honduras that closed out the group stage.

The All Whites’ match against Norway will come with the Europeans in the middle of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

By then they will be hoping to have qualified themselves, with an Oceania semifinal against Fiji and a potential final against New Caledonia and Tahiti to come at the end of the March – fixtures they will enter as heavy favourites.

Darren Bazeley’s side swept through the group stage of the regional qualifiers last year, beating Tahiti 3-0 in Vanuatu before beating Vanuatu 8-1 and Samoa 8-0 at home.

While the Oceania champion will automatically qualify for the World Cup, the runner-up will have to navigate a two-stage playoff in early 2026.

“We are fully focused on March’s Oceania qualifiers, but if we win and secure a place at the FIFA World Cup 2026, it is critical that we face top players and opposition to put us in the best position to perform at the tournament,” Bazeley said in a statement.

“We absolutely are not taking anything for granted this March, but if we come through the qualifiers we need to have a full programme of games lined up, so we have been working hard in the background to lock in some top tier games to really test ourselves against the sort of sides we could face in 2026.

“This Norway side has some world class talent playing in top leagues around the world, so will be a real challenge but a challenge we embrace and are looking forward to.”

Reports out of Poland have suggested the All Whites could play there earlier in the October window.

All Whites – 2025 fixtures

Friday, March 21, 7pm: v Fiji; Sky Stadium, Wellington (Oceania World Cup qualifying semifinal)

Monday, March 24, 7pm: v New Caledonia or Tahiti (Oceania World Cup qualifying final – if qualified)

Wednesday, October 15: v Norway; Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo