Erling Haaland could not summon one last effort to overcome England Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images An hour had passed when Erling Haaland emerged from the Norway dressing room, his hair in a bun, flip flops on his feet, looking a little weary as he was led out of Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium and into a marquee for his final post-match inquisition of the World Cup. These are the moments when we see the game’s idols at their most vulnerable. The memory endures of seeing Lionel Messi trudging through a post-match mixed zone looking haunted after Argentina were knocked out of the 2010 World Cup and of Cristiano Ronaldo fighting back the tears after various disappointments with Portugal. In Atlanta last week, Mohamed Salah and his Egypt team-mates walked out of the stadium in shocked silence. And Haaland? Pretty soon, he was smiling and joking and describing the previous month as the greatest adventure of his life. Norway’s 2-1 defeat by England in the World Cup quarter-final hurt — as did the dead leg that cut short his involvement in extra time — but even by this stage on Sunday evening, his overriding emotion was pride.
Published: July 12, 2026 11:01 am
Source: The New York Times — Read original