Erling Haaland just did to England what he’s been doing to Premier League defenders for years. He made it look inevitable. The Manchester City striker scored both goals in Norway’s 2-1 victory over England in the 2026 FIFA World Cup quarterfinal, ending England’s tournament run and cementing his status as the most dangerous striker on the planet.
The match, played at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on July 11, took Norway to a place they haven’t been in 26 years: the semifinal of a major international tournament.
The match that moved markets
Haaland entered the quarterfinal with seven goals already in the tournament, a number that made him the competition’s leading scorer before kickoff. He added two more against England, bringing his total to nine and making the Golden Boot race look less like a competition and more like a coronation.
Norway’s path to this point was already remarkable. Their 2-1 round of 16 victory over Brazil, where Haaland also scored both goals, signaled that this wasn’t a fluke run.
