Erling Haaland was born in England. He spent his early years there, and when the world saw that he had something out of this world, the England national team came knocking with everything: history, titles, a nearly paved path to glory. 🏴
He said no. He chose Norway, the country he had felt was his since childhood, even if that meant building everything from scratch. “I lived in Norway for so long that the decision was natural. I am from Norway and I am proud to be”, confessed the Manchester City striker.
And he certainly delivered: at the 2026 World Cup, he ended Norway’s 28-year wait to qualify, knocked out Brazil with a brace of his own and took the Vikings to a quarterfinal that no one in his country had ever seen before. Seven goals in four matches, battling Messi and Mbappé for the tournament’s Golden Ball. They fell 2-1 to England in extra time, and Haaland could not even finish the match because of an injury. But that does not take anything away from him. 💙