Norway’s Erling Haaland (9) sits on the bench through the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Norway and England in Miami Gardens, Fla., Saturday, July 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
MIAMI GARDENS, Florida — Erling Haaland’s day ended sooner than many expected. About quarter-hour later, Norway’s run within the World Cup ended as well.
The Vikings’ biggest star didn’t shine Saturday.
Haaland was a non-factor for much of his team’s quarterfinal against England and — at the very least partly due to the strain of coping with hot and humid conditions in South Florida — was taken out with Norway’s hopes hanging within the balance going into the ultimate quarter-hour of beyond regular time.
READ: World Cup: Jude Bellingham lifts England past Erling Haaland, Norway
Norway’s Erling Haaland leaves the pitch at the tip of the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Norway and England in Miami Gardens, Fla., Saturday, July 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
The ultimate rating: England 2, Norway 1. Haaland was kept off the scoresheet for the primary time on this World Cup; he had scored seven times in his 4 appearances going into Saturday, but barely had a probability so as to add to that total Saturday.
“This has been an insane journey,” Haaland said.
Haaland acknowledged afterward that his energy was gone as the sport, which was played with a heat index topping 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius), wore along.
“It was not a tricky decision to take him out,” Norway coach Ståle Solbakken said. “He was finished. Perhaps I must have taken him out 10 minutes before. … He also got a dead leg within the second half, in order that combined with the fatigue. He did every part he could.”
The Manchester City striker was, without query, one among the celebrities of the tournament — but England silenced him. And his former Borussia Dortmund teammate, Jude Bellingham, wound up stealing the show by scoring each goals.
Haaland and Bellingham shared an embrace when the sport ended, before the Norwegian striker made the long, slow walk from the sector to the locker room for the ultimate time on this World Cup.
READ: Erling Haaland: Norway’s World Cup machine and web’s ‘babygirl’
He was already a star throughout the sport coming into the tournament — but his larger-than-most-in-soccer frame and larger-than-life personality, combined along with his long blond hair and unique mannerisms, turned Haaland right into a soccer folk hero.
“I feel this has modified my life, to be honest,” Haaland said.
England’s plan — forged partly by his Manchester City teammates and others who’ve played with and against him on the club level — was clear: Don’t let Haaland get the ball. It was largely successful.
Haaland had two shot attempts in the sport, one on goal, and was virtually silenced after the primary half. There was a 2-on-1 probability late in the primary half where a pass didn’t go his way; if it had, which will have been his best scoring opportunity.
There wasn’t much for him to get excited concerning the remainder of the best way. He stayed on the sector for just a few minutes after the ultimate whistle, saluting Norway’s fans after the team’s best World Cup run ever. When the 2030 tournament rolls around, it won’t be a surprise if Norway makes one other deep run — and that’s clearly going to be the goal.
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“I feel we put Norway on the map,” he said.