Flat-track bully? League 2 standard? Not a Pep player? Not anymore.

Erling Haaland put an end to all doubts with a superstar performance that surpassed even the fairytales of a memorable international break.

Scotland, Ireland, Iraq and Curacao grabbed the headlines with stories that might have been scripted by Hans Christian Andersen.

But the man of the World Cup qualifiers was the Norwegian who led his country to their first finals of this century.

Take nothing away from Troy Parrott’s fantasy five for Ireland, but Haaland’s four, which brought his total to 16 in the tournament, are the most significant.

Norway needed to win their last two matches to be sure of qualifying for 2026.

They duly beat Estonia at home, Haaland scoring twice, but still had to face Italy in the San Siro, where defeat would have meant a playoff.

A daunting task was made tougher by an early Italian goal, and Norway trailed until the 63 rd minute.

But cometh the hour, cometh the man, and after Antonio Nusa superbly levelled, Oscar Bobb crossed for Haaland to crash in a trademark left-foot volley. An all-Manchester City goal that Pep would have noted.

A minute later, Haaland bagged a real poacher’s effort to send the Scandinavians into raptures. Strand Larsen completed the comeback.

It ended 4-1 so Haaland and Norway got the job done.

As the Italians will agree, the young Norwegians will be a force to reckon with in North America next year.

Their fans are careful not to damn them as a Golden Generation, but the current crop is blessed with a 24-karat striker.

Haaland has risen to another level this season and now stands on the cusp of several landmarks.

The first could be reached this weekend when City visit Newcastle in the English Premier League, where his goal tally is 99.

If he scores at St James’s Park, he will claim the coveted “Fastest Century” in just 105 games – scorching past Alan Shearer’s pedestrian 124.

The Magpies’ legend will no doubt be present for the occasion. Besides grabbing the record, Haaland will be out to maintain City’s recent upswing, which has reignited the title race.

If that is his immediate priority, several other milestones are looming. And will ensure that this is a golden calendar autumn in a career that is still in the bloom of late spring.

With 298 career goals (in 361 games), his 300 th will follow as surely as night follows day.

But it’s in the Champions League that he really seems to hit another stratosphere.

When the group games resume, it may only be a matter of minutes before he becomes the fastest and the youngest to 60 goals.

Lionel Messi took 80 games and was 26 years and 86 days old when he hit 60. Haaland was 25 on July 21.

Making Messi look relatively laborious in the world’s premier club tournament is where Haaland is right now.

He has a long way to go to overhaul the Argentine (129) and Cristiano Ronaldo (141) in the all-time list, but when it comes to longevity, he is your man – if his early years are anything to go by.

It’s sometimes joked that because of his habits, hulking appearance (1.95m and 88kg) and meticulously planned career path, he is a laboratory experiment.

Son of a footballer, Alfe-Inge, who won 34 caps for Norway, and a mother who was national heptathlon champion, his progress has been carefully plotted.

Just like his 6,000-calorie-a-day diet, sleeping position and biorhythms. And he prefers an ice bath to an iced beer.

Even his partner and the mother of his one-year-old son is a footballer-turned-nutritionist.

From Norway’s top team, Molde, to RB Salzburg to Borussia Dortmund, coaching standards were high, but buyout clauses low.

He learned a lot and was always in control of his destiny.

The last move is the most intriguing. For all his goals, he was thought to be the last player Pep Guardiola would sign.

For all his pace, his first touch is not Velcro; his turning circle is bigger than a sixpence, and his right foot is mainly for standing.

He is the antithesis of Pep’s preferred ‘Little Magicians’. But a Treble in his first season, an EPL scoring record (36) and a truckload of individual awards were the answer to that.

Since then, the critics have not been quiet, with failure to score in cup finals and other big games not going unnoticed.

Roy Keane went as far as to say: “In front of goal, he’s the best in the world, but his general play is almost like a League 2 player.”

But others have seen greatness in him.

Gary Neville said his talent is “truly unique with the skill and strength of Wayne Rooney and the finishing of Harry Kane and Ronaldo.”

Jurgen Klopp called him the “best striker in the world.”

But it is this season that he has seriously upped his game.

Matches don’t get any bigger than your country trying to qualify for its first World Cup since you were born – and he delivered.

In his last EPL match against Liverpool, he missed a penalty but scored soon afterwards.

If he can maintain this form through this season and next, he will finally get the recognition that has been a little slow in coming.

He has 14 EPL goals already this season, and to beat his own record, he needs one short of a goal a game.

He is now the main reason Manchester City think they can still win the EPL crown and why Norway feel they can surprise at next year’s World Cup.

Looking at the all-time great players, you are struck by how different they all were. Pele, Maradona, Messi, the two Ronaldos, Cruyff, Best, Di Stefano, Puskas.

Haaland is completely different from any of them and, in general play, not in the same class.

But if he carries on scoring at this rate, his sheer weight of goals could see him joining the pantheon.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.