England fans urge Haaland to have a stinker so football comes home to his birthplace

Three Lions fans urged Erling Haaland to have a stinker to help bring football home to his birthplace England. The Manchester City striker was born in Leeds in 2000 while his father Alf-Inge played for the club. After his family relocated to Norway when Haaland was three years old, he was recruited into Norway's youth system. Yet as a youngster in England, he was even pictured wearing a replica England shirt.

Despite his Norwegian career, Haaland has always acknowledged his English heritage. "It's a special game yeah definitely," he said ahead of the quarter-final. "I think for me it's super special because I play in England and I'm born in England." He explained that having lived in England for three or four years as a child, it was natural for him to choose to represent Norway.

Coming into the World Cup quarter-final, Haaland had established himself as one of the tournament's standout performers. His seven goals in four matches had made him soccer's hottest new global superstar. Yet when England faced Norway in Miami, Haaland struggled to impact the game. The 25-year-old "never really had a sniff in Miami" and was substituted during extra time as England won 2-1.

Norwegian media were unforgiving in their assessment. They awarded Haaland a rating of just 4/10, stating that "He had a few opportunities but failed to capitalise on them. It turned out to be a disappointing quarter-final. His body language was off." With Jude Bellingham scoring twice to secure England's victory, the Three Lions progressed to the semi-finals against Argentina.