Louis van Gaal’s return as the head coach of the Netherlands on Wednesday was marred by Erling Haaland, who scored the opening goal of the game to salvage a 1-1 draw for Norway in World Cup qualifiers.

In front of 7,000 fans at Oslo’s Ullevaal Stadium, Norway drew first blood through a 20th-minute Haaland strike. Minutes later, midfielder Davy Klaasen equalised for the Netherlands while substitute Denzel Dumfries came close to snatching a winner with the last attempt of the match.

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The qualifier was the first for the Netherlands since Van Gaal took over for his third stint as coach and marked the return of captain Virgil van Dijk, who was sidelined for months after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

Van Gaal restored the team to the formation of four defenders, three midfielders and three forwards favoured by his players. But the attacking setup left the Dutch vulnerable to Norway’s fast breaks and the Netherlands forwards could not break down the stubborn Norwegian defence.

“You need creativity that we don’t have at the moment,” Van Gaal told Dutch broadcaster NOS.

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Haaland forced a good save from Dutch debutant goalkeeper Justin Bijlow in the 15th minute and five minutes later the 21-year-old controlled a high ball, held off a Van Dijk challenge and poked the ball past Bijlow to give Norway the lead. It was the Borussia Dortmund striker’s eighth goal in just his 13th international match.

“You can’t do anything about it. That’s the quality of Haaland,” Van Gaal said.

The Netherlands pushed forward throughout the first half and was rewarded in the 36th minute when Klaassen bundled the ball into the net after a low cross by Georginio Wijnaldum.

Haaland came close to restoring the Norway lead in the 66th minute when he again beat the Dutch defence to run onto a through ball by Martin Odegaard but hit the post with a curling left-foot shot.

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Substitute Donyell Malen also came close for the Netherlands in a disappointing second half, cleverly making room for himself on the edge of the penalty area before shooting just wide.

Van Gaal took over from Frank de Boer, who resigned after the Netherlands was eliminated from the European Championship by the Czech Republic. Klaassen’s goal was the 100th by the Netherlands under Van Gaal’s leadership.

With inputs from the Associated Press