England legend John Terry knows a thing or two about the art of defending.
Ahead of Norway vs England on Saturday, the Three Lions will need to create a plan on how to stop Erling Haaland’s incredible run of form in front of goal.
The Manchester City striker is capable of causing England some major problems in Miami, having already scored seven in this summer’s World Cup.
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England have only been able to keep two clean sheets out of their five games in the tournament so far.
Former defender Terry has now shared his advice to the England squad ahead of the game against Norway on Saturday.
Although the England legend has never played against the Norwegian striker, he thinks he knows exactly how Haaland could be stopped.
How John Terry thinks England can stop Norway’s Erling Haaland
Ahead of the game, Harry Kane has praised Haaland for the incredible performance levels he has shown this summer.
The 25-year-old has proven a handful to every defence he’s played against at the World Cup, but Terry has a plan for how to stop him.
“Just from a defender’s point of view coming into this game: Make sure that our wingers double up with our full-backs. Make sure they’re aggressive and help our full-backs as much as possible to stop crosses coming into the box,” Terry said on his TikTok account.
“As a centre-half, have conversations with Jordan Pickford. Encourage him to come and collect, come and punch as many crosses as he possibly can, and be really aggressive when he does that.”
Haaland will be facing a number of his Man City teammates on Saturday in Miami, with most of the players in the England squad knowing the striker’s game inside and out.
“As soon as that ball goes wide, do not lose focus on Haaland, because he is your big threat. Make sure you’re always touching, feeling, and knowing exactly where he is, and make it as difficult as possible for him to get a free run or a free jump above you.”
As good as Terry’s advice may be, putting that into action is another matter altogether.
England have conceded on average a goal per game, which will certainly give Haaland some optimism of closing down Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi’s lead in the Golden Boot race.
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