Erling Haaland’s rise to global superstardom at this World Cup has been incredible.
Already one of the biggest names in the sport coming to North America, the Norwegian has endeared himself to a new audience with authenticity and humor. The seven goals helped as well.
He took his country to the quarter-finals, having not been at the tournament since 1998, but went out to England after a valiant display.
It has been quite a ride for the 25-year-old, who had one last thing to say to his new fans before he heads back to Europe.
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Erling Haaland’s two posts to mark US World Cup departure
Norway lost 2-1 to England on Saturday night in Miami, and it wasn’t Haaland’s best performance. He was largely contained, but it doesn’t make his first World Cup campaign any less impressive.
Now, the striker is leaving North America with his head held high. He took to X on Monday with a brief message for US fans.
Under a selfie taken on the team bus, he wrote: “Goodbye. It’s been emotional!” with a US flag added on to the caption.
The night before, he wrote: “It’s been quite a row, thank you for making it so special.”
That’s in reference to the Viking Row Norway did after each World Cup win.
Controversy surrounding Haaland incident vs England
There was a huge moment during Saturday’s quarter-final, when Norway had a goal ruled out for a foul before the corner kick was taken.
Haaland pushed England midfielder Elliott Anderson to create space. His new Man City teammate went down on the floor, and VAR subsequently scratched off the goal.
England then went on to score a second goal, sealing their spot in the final four and sending Haaland and co packing.
His father, Alf-Inge Haaland, was one of the first to call out the decision as wrong. He wasn’t alone either. Many viewers felt it was a soft foul to give, pointing out that Anderson went down very easily after taking a similar level of contact just seconds before.
For his son, though, it’s not something worth dwelling on. Norway surprised everyone with such a deep run, and they will feel like they can push on and come back stronger for the next tournament.
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