Håvard Nielsen

Håvard Nielsen (born 15 July 1993) is a Norwegian footballer who plays as a forward for SC Freiburg.

Born in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, Nielsen grew up in the suburb of Oppsal. He began his career with the local club Oppsal IF, but signed for Vålerenga in 2007, when he was 14 years old.

On 5 October 2009, he made his debut in the Norwegian Premier League against Viking as the youngest ever Vålerenga player. In January 2011, he signed a three-year professional contract with Vålerenga.

At the age of 18, Nielsen was already an experienced player and on 11 July 2012, he scored his first hat-trick for Vålerenga in the match against Odd Grenland.

In July 2012, he signed a deal with Red Bull Salzburg. In January 2014, he went on loan to the German Bundesliga side Eintracht Braunschweig. On 26 January 2014 he made his debut in the German first tier, in a game against Werder Bremen. The loan deal ended in June 2015 when he returned to Salzburg. In Winter 2015 he went on to SC Freiburg.

Nielsen has played for a national team above his age since he was 16, and is considered one of the greatest talents in Norway. He played all matches during the 2011 European Under-19 Championship qualification and scored one goal, when Norway advanced to the elite qualification.

International goals

Scores and results list Norway's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	14 November 2012	Ferenc Puskás Stadium, Budapest	Hungary	1–0	2–0	Friendly
2	13 October 2014	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo	Bulgaria	2–1	2–1	UEFA Euro 2016 Qualifier

As of 6 January 2017