Norway striker Erling Haaland has insisted his side’s chances of winning the World Cup remain “really low”, and said all of the pressure is on England ahead of Saturday’s quarterfinal in Miami.
Haaland, who has scored seven goals in five appearances to fire Norway into the last eight for the first time, said Thomas Tuchel’s side should embrace their status as one of the tournament favourites.
“Really low, still,” Haaland said, when asked to rate Norway’s chances of a historic trophy win.
“I think there’s some clear favourites out there, England’s one of them. I think all of you [reporters] should put every single pressure on the English lads,” he said with a chuckle.
The Manchester City striker, who was born in Leeds, added: “It’s a special game, definitely. I think for me it’s super special, because I play in England and I was born in England, and you also play against teammmates and everything.
“It’s a funny game and it’s going to be nice.”
When asked if England supporters should “stay humble” — in reference to a jibe the forward made in a Premier League match against Arsenal in September 2024 — he said: “I think everyone should stay humble.
“They should be confident of progressing definitely, it’s England.”
But when asked if all of the pressure is on the Three Lions, he responded with a concise: “Yeah, definitely.”
Haaland’s latest comments are consistent with the relaxed approach he adopted earlier in the tournament.
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Before Norway’s final group game against France, which saw Haaland benched among nine changes as Les Bleus won 4-1, he said he “didn’t care too much” about the outcome.
“We’re through, we managed to get through, which is incredible,” Haaland said at the time.
“So I couldn’t care too much about that game now. They [France] are probably going to win against us, they’re probably going to win the whole tournament.”
Instead, Norway went on to produce the biggest result in their history, defeating Brazil in the round of 16 after overcoming Ivory Coast in the previous round to continue their remarkable run.
Haaland scored in both matches, including a brace against the five-time champions.
“Playing against Brazil was kind of crazy for us Norwegians. And to win against Brazil, and then go and play England in the quarterfinals in the World Cup, in the USA is quite special,” Haaland said on Thursday.
“And think if you watch the scenes back in Norway, this is not normal for Norway to be, so it’s super special.”
Norway and England will meet in Miami on Saturday. The winners will take on either Argentina or Switzerland in the semifinal.
Information from PA was used in this report.
