Haaland and Norway chase history against England in the World Cup quarter-finals

Norway have never been here before. When they walk out in Miami on Saturday to face England in the World Cup quarter-finals, it will be the furthest the nation has gone at a major tournament, and the man who carried them here needs no introduction. Erling Haaland has dragged Norway through the knockouts almost on his own, and one more big night would put them into a first World Cup semi-final.

Haaland has been Norway’s tournament

Haaland arrives at the last eight with seven goals, the most by any player at his first World Cup since Poland’s Grzegorz Lato in 1974. He struck late to beat Cote d’Ivoire in the round of 32, then delivered the individual performance of the tournament so far, a brace that knocked five-time champions Brazil out in the last 16. Only Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi, level on eight, sit above him in the race for the Golden Boot.

Stale Solbakken’s side finished as runners-up to France in their group and have leaned on their talisman ever since. Take Haaland out of the equation and Norway have looked ordinary, which is exactly why England will spend so much of the week working out how to smother him.

England arrive as favourites

Thomas Tuchel’s England come in unbeaten and off the back of a 3-2 win over Mexico at the Azteca, a game Jude Bellingham lit up with two early goals before England saw it out with ten men. Tuchel must now patch up his back line, with Jarell Quansah serving a two-match ban for his red card against Mexico and Reece James pushing to be fit after a hamstring problem. Containing Haaland falls largely on the centre-backs, and how they handle his running in behind could decide the tie.

Haaland turns the heat on England

Norway’s talisman has spent the build-up trying to load the pressure onto England. He called his side’s chances of winning the World Cup “really low” and said the expectation sits squarely with Tuchel’s team, who came into the tournament among the favourites. Gamesmanship or not, it suits a Norway side content to play the underdog with the best striker on the planet leading the line.

When it kicks off

Norway against England kicks off at 5pm in Miami on Saturday, July 11, which is 2:30am on Sunday in India. The winner moves into a semi-final against Argentina or Switzerland, with France already through on the other side of the draw and waiting on the Spain-Belgium winner.

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