--- title: Erling Haaland Is Having a Blast at the World Cup description: No one is having as much fun at the 2026 FIFA World Cup as Norwegian striker Erling Haaland. canonical: https://time.com/article/2026/06/24/erling-haaland-world-cup-2026-norway/ author: Sean Gregory article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-06-24T15:56:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-06-26T16:32:36.059Z article:section: Sports og:title: Erling Haaland Has Already Won the World Cup og:description: No one is having as much fun as the Norwegian striker og:url: https://time.com/article/2026/06/24/erling-haaland-world-cup-2026-norway/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltedeaf427ab465f26/6a3be87d2b5ae170ca9c6c4f/erling-haaland-norway-world-cup-00.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9%2Coffset-x0.00%2Coffset-y0.00 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: erling-haaland-norway-world-cup-00.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Erling Haaland Has Already Won the World Cup twitter:description: No one is having as much fun as the Norwegian striker twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltedeaf427ab465f26/6a3be87d2b5ae170ca9c6c4f/erling-haaland-norway-world-cup-00.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9%2Coffset-x0.00%2Coffset-y0.00 ---  # Erling Haaland Has Already Won the World Cup ## Video: TIME100 Sports | 4 questions that explain Erling Haaland [Watch (HLS stream): TIME100 Sports | 4 questions that explain Erling Haaland](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/hcLiy7Om.m3u8) (1:42)  _Published 2026-06-09. No one is having as much fun as the Norwegian striker_  by [Sean Gregory](https://time.com/author/sean-gregory/)  ## Sean Gregory Senior Correspondent Jun 24, 2026 3:56 PM UTC  by [Sean Gregory](https://time.com/author/sean-gregory/)  ## Sean Gregory Senior Correspondent Jun 24, 2026 3:56 PM UTC What happens when one of the top soccer talents in the world plays in the most pressure-packed tournament on the planet free from any and all worry? An explosion of scoring and joy, it turns out. This is [Erling Haaland’s](https://time.com/7303602/erling-haaland-manchester-city-interview/) World Cup, and we’re all just along for the ride. [Haaland](https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/erling-haaland/), the Norwegian striker with a fondness for man-buns, Viking lore, and cow heart, has scored four goals in his first two [World Cup](https://time.com/article/2026/05/27/fifa-world-cup-2026-complete-guide/) games—two against Iraq on June 16, and another pair versus Senegal on Monday. Norway won both games and has already advanced to the knockout round. Haaland has now scored at least one goal in each of Norway’s last dozen competitive matches. Overall, Haaland has 59 goals in 52 matches for Norway; according to[ StatMuse](https://x.com/statmusefc/status/2069228247003361640), this prolific scoring rate gives Haaland the best goal-per-match ratio by any player with more than 50 international goals in the last 100 years.  Haaland after scoring a goal during the match between Iraq and Norway on June 16, 2026, at Boston Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. M. Anthony Nesmith—Icon Sportswire/Getty Images Yes, Haaland’s superstar peers are also showing out so far at this World Cup: [Lionel Messi ](https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/lionel-messi/)has five goals, including a hat trick against Algeria, for Argentina. Kylian Mbappé has four for France; [Cristiano Ronaldo ](https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/cristiano-ronaldo/)got into the act on Tuesday, scoring his first two goals of the tournament in Portugal’s 5-1 trouncing of Uzbekistan. But these players face a burden that he doesn’t: national fan bases who demand World Cup titles. Sure, [Messi ](https://time.com/6342417/athlete-of-the-year-2023-lionel-messi/)finally [won his championship](https://time.com/6242270/world-cup-andres-cantor-crying-argentina-messi/) with Argentina four years ago in Qatar. But that country’s soccer-mad fans are thirsting for a World Cup repeat, which hasn’t been done in 64 years. Plus, a fourth World Cup title would put Argentina just one behind its archrival, Brazil, for the most ever. France, a dynamic team [that’s the betting favorite to win it all](https://www.espn.com/espn/betting/story/%5F/id/48386952/espn-soccer-futbol-world-cup-betting-odds-championship-groups), is seeking to avenge its final loss to Argentina from 2022\. And poor[ Harry Kane.](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7377554/2026/06/23/harry-kane-tom-brady-nfl-world-cup/) England invented the game but infamously hasn’t won a World Cup since 1966\. Kane is under immense pressure to help end this drought. Kane scored two goals in England’s opening-game win over Croatia [but missed a gimme](https://www.foxsports.com/watch-vertical/fmc-vd71x7w47heyz0ac) against Ghana yesterday in a 0-0 draw, sending pubs into conniption. (A Ghanaian witch [doctor reportedly put a curse](https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/ghanaian-witch-doctor-who-nobbled-37325441) on Kane.)  Team Norway celebrates with fans with a “Viking Row” after their 3-2 win against Senegal on June 22, 2026 Patrick Smith—FIFA/Getty Images  Norway fans participate in a “Viking Row” on June 22, 2026. Seth Wenig—AP Haaland, who plays for Manchester City on the club level, finds himself in an enviable position we rarely see in sports: an all-time superstar unencumbered by expectations. He suits up for a side, Norway, that last reached a World Cup in 1998\. Just being at the World Cup is a victory. Everything else is gravy, and Haaland knows it. “Norway will never win the World Cup,” Haaland told TIME in an interview last summer. (He put the team’s chances at 0.5%.) Granted, Haaland said this before Norway won four more World Cup qualifying matches to finish a flawless 8-0 in its group. But remember, he still hails from a sane sports country. [Norway,](https://time.com/5168048/norway-olympics-medals-winter-games-skiiing/) after all, encourages its kids to try different sports and play locally instead of traveling across the country to youth tournaments. Norwegians don’t even keep score for its youngest kid competitions. They’re going to love Haaland no matter what. So he can just enjoy himself at this World Cup and do things like encourage his team to do the [Viking Row](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2F6vZKGNZM)—the viral Norwegian fan cheer that has been done on [an escalator in Boston](https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=865768486080750), a [New York City subway](https://www.instagram.com/reels/DZ3kPXrxY0a/), and in the[ middle of Times Square](https://apnews.com/video/times-square-filled-as-norway-fans-row-6ebcb1f92e7745558577d09d3fb4f8e5)—on the New York New Jersey Stadium field after Norway beat Senegal 3-2 on Monday. On Instagram, he’s sharing stories[ of little kids ](https://www.instagram.com/reels/DZ7vFMIR8Fq/)and t[he elderly](https://www.instagram.com/stories/erling/3925962995339866725/?hl=en) doing the Viking Row. Before the Senegal game, he spent a few hours wandering around New York City, [expressing surprise](https://www.instagram.com/reels/DZxr1zHvlTd/) that he wasn’t recognized more often (who does he think he is, [Josh Hart?](https://nypost.com/2026/06/22/sports/josh-hart-wife-jet-off-to-paris-after-knicks-championship-parade-frenzy/)). He stopped by [Katz’s Delicatessen. ](https://www.instagram.com/p/DZs6yoHErRI/)  Haaland celebrates his goal with teammates Patrick Berg and David Möller Wolfe on June 22, 2026. Tom Weller—Picture Alliance/Getty Images Norway and France, both undefeated in the World Cup so far, face each other on Friday, in Foxboro, Mass., for Group I supremacy. Haaland vs. Mbappé, a matchup soccer nuts have been anticipating since the[ World Cup draw ](https://time.com/7338971/world-cup-draw-fifa-2026/)in December. Haaland’s not one of them. “I couldn’t care too much about that game now,” Haaland [said](https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/1ud64wk/erling%5Fhaaland%5Fi%5Fcouldnt%5Fcare%5Ftoo%5Fmuch%5Fabout/) after Norway’s win over Senegal. After all, Norway’s already through to the next round. Gravy. “They’re probably going to win against us,” he said. “They’re probably going to win the whole tournament.” There Haaland goes again, lowering expectations, with a gigantic smile. 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