Eden Hazard Snubs Erling Haaland While Naming the Current Best Norwegian Player

• Eden Hazard was recently tasked with picking the best player from each nation
• The Belgian surprisingly left out Erling Haaland when asked about Norway
• He, however gave a perfectly sound explanation behind his controversial pick

Who is your pick for the best player in the current Norway national team?

Off the top of most fans’ heads, the answer is simple - Erling Haaland. Not Eden Hazard, though.

The former Chelsea star recently made a bold claim, asserting that the best Norwegian player is Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard.

He did so during a recent interview with talkSPORT, where he was asked to identify the best players from several countries.

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Hazard typically picked Kylian Mbappe in France, while he selected Kevin de Bruyne as the best player from his home nation, Belgium.

He picked Phil Foden for England, while he went with Jamal Musiala in Germany.

However, when asked about Norway, Hazard had an interesting interaction with the interviewer once he picked Arsenal’s £30 million man.

Asked why he picked Odegaard, the 33-year-old said:

“I say Odegaard because I played with him.”

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While Hazard’s pick was contentious, the Belgian has a strong case for Odegaard.

Odegaard for Arsenal

The Arsenal man has been Mikel Arteta’s better player in recent seasons, playing crucial roles in The Gunners’ title charge over the last two seasons.

In 153 games for the North London side across all competitions, Odegaard has been involved in 60 goals (35 goals and 25 assists).

According to CIES, Odegaard covered 414 kilometres last season. Only four players covered more ground than him.

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Haaland for Manchester City

Haaland, who is City’s main striker, predictably has a better goal ratio than his international teammate, with 90 goals in 98 appearances for Pep Guardiola’s side.

In terms of silverware success, Odegaard hasn’t had much luck in that department, as Haaland has outshone him in terms of trophies in just two years with Manchester City.

Hazard briefly played with Odegaard at Real Madrid before the midfielder secured a permanent move to Arsenal in 2021.

Fabregas picks Rooney over Hazard

Elsewhere, Sports Brief reported on Cesc Fabregas’ interesting pick during a game of “winner stays”.

The Spaniard strongly backed Eden Hazard against some big names but dropped the Belgian when asked to choose between Hazard and Wayne Rooney.

In the past, Hazard also admitted that Rooney was a formidable player.