Erling Haaland is scoring four goals in two games at his first World Cup. He's also moonlighting as a social media guy from the American South.
Ahead of Norway's final Group D match against France in Foxborough, Haaland was caught on camera convincing two American women that he was absolutely, definitely not the most famous footballer on the planet. "No, not me. I'm the social media guy," he told them, deadpan.
One of the women wasn't buying it. "You're lying to me. Somebody just told me that one of you is like the biggest soccer player in the world." Haaland held firm. When his companion suggested they all take a photo, the Norwegian striker signed off with: "No worries y'all."
The accent was immediately called out. And Haaland's response? "Certainly is, dawg."
Meanwhile, on the pitch
The charm offensive is just a sideshow. On the field, Haaland has been doing what Haaland does — scoring goals at a rate that makes everyone else's tournament look ordinary. A brace against Iraq in a 4-1 opener, then two more against Senegal in a 3-2 win. Four goals in two games. Norway, back at a World Cup for the first time since 1998, are through to the Round of 32.
He now sits joint-second in the Golden Boot race alongside Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappé, one behind Lionel Messi's five. Norway topping the group — which requires beating two-time champions France tonight — would only add to the narrative building around him.
When asked about his knack for finding the net after the Senegal game, Haaland was characteristically blunt: "It's my speciality to score goals. It's like many other things, I'm just really good at scoring goals. And I'm quite lucky. I don't know what I'm doing. But yeah. That's just how it is."
59 goals in 52 Norway appearances. 16 in World Cup qualifying alone. Whatever he's doing, it's working. The Golden Boot market just got a lot more interesting.
