Theodore and Anton charged at each other.
They collided with a heavy, bone-rattling crunch. Leveraging his superior physical strength, Theodore completely overpowered the Romanian midfielder, sending him tumbling across the grass to land in an undignified heap.
Without missing a beat, Theodore seized the loose ball and fired a right-footed pass upfield.
This time, he didn't aim for Haaland's head.
He played a beautifully weighted through-ball, arcing it over the Romanian center-back to drop right into the open space ahead.
Theodore knew Haaland's game inside out, the explosive striker thrived on passes he could chase down.
Haaland roared past the defensive line like a freight train, killing the ball dead with his first touch.
Without hesitation, he unleashed a violent strike!
The ball rocketed into the far corner of the net!
Romanian goalkeeper Ciprian Tătărușanu stretched to his absolute limit, but the sheer velocity of the shot left him helpless.
Boom!
"He's done it! Erling Haaland finally finds the back of the net!" Martin Tyler shouted over the broadcast.
"Norway leads three-one, and it's another spectacular assist from Theodore Bjorn. With two goals and an assist tonight, the young midfielder is running this game entirely on his own."
Haaland sprinted toward the corner flag, pumping his fists and screaming to let out his pent-up frustration.
It had been a rough night for the striker, filled with missed sitters and groans from the home crowd, but the moment the net rippled, Ullevaal Stadium erupted in absolute delirium for the big man.
With a 3-1 lead, Lagerbäck signaled for his men to kill the tempo and avoid injuries.
But Romania had nothing to lose, and Coach Contra ordered his men to throw the kitchen sink at Norway.
In the 64th minute, Romania found an opening. Out on the right flank, the 34-year-old veteran Ciprian Deac received the ball.
Under pressure from the Norwegian fullback, Deac dropped his shoulder, feinted a shot, and chopped the ball inside onto his left foot.
He broke through the line and looked up at the goal. Sander Berge and Selnæs rushed out to close the angle, but Deac had sold them a dummy.
Instead of shooting, he whipped a low, cutting pass across the box toward the left flank.
"Grozav finds space on the left!" Tyler commentated. "He pulls the trigger!"
Grozav laced a heavy shot, but Theodore threw himself into a desperate sliding block.
The ball slammed into Theodore's ribs and ricocheted straight to Anton at the edge of the area!
Despite being a defensive midfielder, Anton backed himself.
He pushed the ball deep into the Norwegian box, setting up to shoot.
Before he could even pull his leg back, Theodore was there.
He lunged in and cleanly picked Anton's pocket.
The gap in class was glaring, Theodore was a star, while Anton looked completely out of his depth.
Just as Theodore took a touch to set up a counter-attack, he felt a rush of air behind him.
A split second later, a sickening impact crashed into his right calf.
Anton, humiliated and seeing red, had launched a reckless, sweeping slide tackle entirely from behind.
Theodore's legs were swept out, and he crashed hard into the turf, a sharp pain shooting up his leg.
Whistle!
The referee sprinted over, blowing his whistle hard, but shockingly kept his cards in his pocket.
The Ullevaal Stadium erupted in a deafening chorus of furious boos, raining abuse down on the official.
On the bench, Lagerbäck and his staff leapt to their feet in sheer panic.
...
Thousands of miles away in China, Xia Dongguo and Marianne Bjorn jumped off the couch.
"That was a filthy challenge! God, I hope he isn't hurt," Marianne gasped, her hands over her mouth.
"That dirty little bastard!" Dongguo roared, his face turning red. "He's trying to snap Theo's leg! Fucking coward!"
If Dongguo were in the stadium, he would have stormed the pitch himself to punch the guy out.
...
But what the father couldn't do, the son handled.
Ignoring the throbbing pain in his calf, Theodore pushed himself off the grass.
He didn't say a word.
He just marched straight up to Anton, planted his feet, and threw a devastating left hook flush against the Romanian's jaw!
Crack.
Anton's eyes rolled back, and he dropped to the turf like a sack of bricks, out cold.
The entire stadium froze in stunned silence.
Even the players on the pitch were too shocked to intervene.
...
Back in the living room, Dongguo pumped his fist. "Fucking brilliant! That's my boy! Clocked him right in the jaw!"
On the pitch, the referee finally snapped out of his shock, shoved his way through the gathering crowd, and pulled a straight red card from his back pocket.
"A red card! A straight red for Theodore Bjorn!" Tyler yelled, sounding genuinely stunned. "Absolute scenes here in Oslo! Bjorn has just laid Anton out with a left hook! I cannot believe what I am seeing!"
Theodore didn't bat an eye. He didn't argue, he didn't complain.
He just adjusted his shirt and walked calmly toward the tunnel.
The game was essentially over at 3-1, and with Norway already dominating the group, he couldn't care less about missing the end of this match.
As he walked off, the Norwegian fans didn't boo him.
Instead, a wave of applause and a standing ovation rippled through the stands.
Lagerbäck met him at the touchline, giving him a firm pat on the shoulder before Theodore disappeared down the tunnel.
Anton was eventually stretchered off after the medical staff woke him up.
Even down to ten men, Norway parked the bus and completely suffocated Romania's attack.
The match ended 3-1.
...
In the post-match press conference, Lagerbäck refused to throw his star player under the bus.
"Theo's reaction was a clear red card, no arguments there," the manager told the press. "But Anton's tackle from behind was malicious and designed to injure. The fact that the referee ignored it is a disgrace, and it directly caused the escalation."
In the locker room, Theodore answered a video call from his parents.
"Theo my boy that was a hell of a right hook—well, left hook!" Dongguo laughed, shadowboxing the camera.
"You laid him out flat!"
"Dongguo, shut the hell up," Marianne scolded, snatching the phone. "Theo, don't you ever pull some reckless thing like that again. Are you hurt? How's your leg?"
"I'm fine, Mum, just a bruise," Theodore sighed.
"Good. We're flying back to Oslo tomorrow. Get yourself home for a few days to cool off."
"Got it."
After hanging up, Lagerbäck walked into the dressing room.
Instead of screaming at him, the veteran coach just sighed and patted his back. "Lads get hot-headed on the pitch. He came at you with intent to injure, so don't stress over it."
Theodore blinked, surprised.
Did hell freeze over?
"UEFA will definitely slap you with a multi-game suspension for a punch," Lagerbäck added, grabbing a water bottle.
"But it doesn't matter. We've got the Faroe Islands and Malta next. We'll survive without you. Get some sleep."
...
Back at the hotel, Theodore's phone vibrated.
It was a text from Reba.
[Theo! Promise me you won't do stupid thing like that again. Football isn't an MMA fight. A long suspension could ruin your momentum.]
[I know. I had it handled,] he texted back. He knew she was just worried about him.
A second later, a text from Jack Grealish popped up.
[Theo you absolute madman! You're trending number one worldwide on Twitter! The clip of you knocking that guy out has ten million views already!] Jack attached a link.
Theodore clicked it and scrolled through the replies.
They were an absolute goldmine!
"If football doesn't work out, Bjorn is winning a world title in boxing." - 34k likes
"He needs to make that left hook his new goal celebration immediately. Iconic." - 32k likes
"Anton deserved worse. He tried to snap his leg and the ref did nothing. Good on Theo for standing up for himself." - 23k likes
"Game's not dead! Fucking love the passion from Bjorn. If you don't fight back, what kind of man are you?" - 12k likes
"Ref is a total idiot, Anton should have been sent off ages ago. Perfect punch." - 80k likes