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After a 28-year hiatus, Norway has made a triumphant return to the World Cup, and Erling Haaland is the driving force behind it. The 25-year-old forward, competing in his first-ever tournament, has dominated headlines throughout the summer: from the way he terrorizes defenders with his towering 6'5" build charging toward goal; to his habit of fastening his flowing, golden hair with carefully chosen, color-matched hair ties; to his newfound fascination with "Snapchat."
No narrative has grown more prominent, however, than the way Haaland has transformed soccer's most fiercely contested tournament into something that looks effortless.
Haaland's latest moment of brilliance secured Norway's place in the round of 16. The Manchester City superstar slotted home an 85th-minute winner past Côte d'Ivoire goalkeeper Yahia Fofana to guide his team to a 2–1 victory and eliminate the West African side from the competition.
The goal was Haaland's fifth of the tournament, spread across just three appearances, as head coach Ståle Solbakken rested him during the group stage finale against France for recovery purposes.
Haaland entered Tuesday's match on the back of back-to-back braces against Iraq and Senegal, becoming only the third player in World Cup history to find the net in each of his first three appearances—and the first to do so in more than 70 years. He also surpassed the likes of Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, and Vinicius Junior to claim outright second place in the hotly contested Golden Boot standings, sitting behind only Lionel Messi, who leads with six goals.
Yet that is far from the only milestone Haaland has reached for Norway so far.
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Haaland's close-range finish against Côte d'Ivoire also made him the quickest player in history to reach 60 international goals, achieving the feat in just 53 caps. The Norwegian has scored in each of his country's last 13 competitive fixtures, netting an impressive 25 goals during that stretch.
Mbappé—widely regarded as the king of World Cup scoring—also reached 60 international goals for France, but required 101 appearances to get there. Cristiano Ronaldo needed 130 matches to hit the same mark for Portugal, while Messi took 122 games to do it with Argentina.
What makes Haaland's feat even more remarkable is the quality of attacking support that both Messi and Mbappé enjoy compared to Haaland's Norwegian teammates. Messi benefits from the presence of Lautaro Martínez, Julián Alvarez, and Enzo Fernández, among other Argentine attacking talents. Mbappé is backed by a cast that includes Michael Olise, Dembélé, and Désiré Doué, to name just a few.
Norway is not without quality, boasting Alexander Sørloth on the flank and Martin Ødegaard orchestrating play in midfield; however, it pales in comparison to the abundance of star power found in both Argentina and France, the two finalists of the 2022 World Cup.
SI answers is our AI answer engine trained on human-created content.
Haaland has demonstrated he can excel under any circumstances. He and his Norwegian teammates now set their sights on five-time world champions Brazil, who scraped past Japan 2–1 on Monday and appear to be prime targets for Haaland's next act of destruction.