{"id":7019,"date":"2026-07-11T11:35:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T11:35:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7019"},"modified":"2026-07-11T11:35:51","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T11:35:51","slug":"the-world-cup-will-end-the-legend-of-erling-haaland-will-live-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7019","title":{"rendered":"The World Cup will end. The legend of Erling Haaland will live on."},"content":{"rendered":"

A star abroad, the goofy Norwegian striker has captured casual American hearts one social media video at a time.<\/strong><\/p>

Read more France storm back with 30 straight points to beat Australia 42-26<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Norway’s Erling Haaland has seven goals in five World Cup matches entering Saturday’s quarterfinal against England. (Frank Franklin II\/AP Photo\/Frank Franklin II)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Erling Haaland arrived in the United States last month as one of the most famous soccer players on the planet. But the 6-foot-5, flaxen-haired Norwegian striker was a relative unknown for the average American sports fan, the every-four-year World Cup fan who doesn\u2019t know Haaland\u2019s Man City from Man U.<\/p>\n

Now, five games, seven goals and untold Viking-boat rows later, Americans know him. And they can\u2019t get enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon\u201d invited Haaland as a guest, though preparations for Norway\u2019s quarterfinal game against England on Saturday prevented him from accepting. Googling his name produced an animation of Norway\u2019s Viking row<\/a> across the bottom of the screen. Haaland now has more than 60 million Instagram followers, surpassing Manchester City\u2019s following, and has gained nearly 19 million of those followers in the last 30 days<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
A fan holds a cardboard cutout of Haaland holding a dog during Norway’s round-of-16 victory over Brazil. (Jeenah Moon\/Reuters)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t be surprised if there\u2019s a cartoon series around him, right?\u201d joked Matt Winkler, an American University sports analytics and management professor who previously aided media operations for the U.S. Soccer Federation. \u201cHe\u2019s perfect for animation.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe stands out like nobody else. And we\u2019re in a different world now. Things go viral faster.\u201d<\/p>\n

Across social media, Americans have been delighted by this enormous character who scores goals with a robotic precision but is funny and does not take himself seriously off the field.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be honest I never even liked soccer until this man Erling Haaland showed up,\u201d one fan wrote on X<\/a>, accompanied by a video of Haaland scoring a header against Brazil.<\/p>\n

Another wrote<\/a>, \u201cyou have met me at a very norwegian time of my life,\u201d alongside a GIF of Haaland eating a turkey leg.<\/p>\n

Haaland\u2019s physical qualities are unique in soccer and drawing plenty of attention from his American audience, many of whom can\u2019t quite believe that a man who appears built for the gridiron has such deft abilities on the pitch.<\/p>\n

One newcomer to the Haaland experience learned on his Wikipedia page that when he was 5 years old, Haaland set a world record for standing long jump in his age category by jumping a stunning 5 feet 4 inches.<\/p>\n

\u201cA kindergartner jumping as far as I am tall!\u201d the user wrote<\/a>. \u201cTerrifying little Viking child.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even other athletes have gotten swept up in the summer of Haaland.<\/p>\n

On a Yahoo Sports show Thursday<\/a>, former NFL player Julian Edelman compared Haaland to Rob Gronkowski, a similar physical freak of nature who starred for the New England Patriots as a tight end \u2014 and is known for his outgoing, fun-loving personality.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat dude\u2019s full European Gronk,\u201d Edelman said. \u201cHe\u2019s European Gen Z Gronk.\u201d<\/p>\n

While speaking with reporters Thursday<\/a>, Haaland seemed delighted by his newfound popularity in the United States.<\/p>

Read more Senate hopefuls try to keep Platner at a distance while embracing his movement<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a good thing,\u201d Haaland said. \u201cI like the Americans. I think they are kind of hilarious. They are funny. I like the way they are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Haaland, of course, has long been a beloved presence in Norway, so Norwegian fans find it equally hilarious that he is so rapidly becoming an American superstar.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou almost don\u2019t perceive him the same way,\u201d said Joe Hammond, an Oslo native traversing the U.S. following his home side<\/a>. For those in Norway, he doesn\u2019t come off in the same goofy manner \u2014 or at least, he hasn\u2019t always.<\/p>\n

With German club Borussia Dortmund as a teenager, Haaland often appeared disgruntled, a terse response awaiting any fan or reporter who approached. Only in recent years did he develop an outgoing social media presence, blossoming from joke Snapchat videos, which are still alive and well<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe almost became this outgoing leader kind of guy for us,\u201d Hammond said. \u201cEven when he\u2019s back in Norway, though, he isn\u2019t this joking on social media and Snapchat.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Haaland, a social media (and soccer) star, has his phone in hand while celebrating Norway’s round-of-16 victory. (Justin Setterfield\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

So maybe the U.S. has drawn more out of him, whether it be the New York deli sandwiches he has tried or the cowboy hat and boots he became fascinated with while in Dallas for the round of 32.<\/p>\n

Haaland now shares more of his personality on social media than most superstar athletes do, which gave his new fans plenty of material to gather on their new Norwegian favorite. On his Snapchat, Haaland posts regularly with everything from thoughts on other matches \u2014 on Thursday, he expressed his displeasure<\/a> with the length of a penalty review in the France-Morocco game \u2014 to self-deprecating videos and goofy selfies.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s just engaging,\u201d said Bianca Griffin, a D.C. resident. She had never heard of the star or even watched much soccer before this summer. But it was only days after she saw a video of Haaland making a joke about flying to the United States in June that she found herself following him across his social platforms and perusing jersey retail sites. \u201cHe just doesn\u2019t seem to take himself that seriously,\u201d she said. \u201cWhich other athletes should try.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a way, it\u2019s a science.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has a great team,\u201d Winkler said. Haaland\u2019s management, then, is just leaning into a crescendo of attributes, from his massive frame to his goofy grin. Paired with his intentional 20-second comedic clips, which he posts with enough scarcity to maintain intrigue, those traits offer the perfect allure in the modern day of social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s young. He\u2019s expressive. And don\u2019t forget those huge dominating features,\u201d Winkler said, which lend to imitating gimmicks across platforms. Thus, more videos. Reach amplifies, and with the English Premier League back by the end of August, his shelf life isn\u2019t brief. Americans could very well continue to follow him, Winkler reasoned: \u201cHe just fits these stereotypes and these things almost as a caricature.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Haaland is at the center of Norway’s celebration after scoring the team’s second goal against Brazil. (Al Bello\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Norway is the underdog against England on Saturday, so Haaland may soon be headed back across the Atlantic, away from the shores where he skyrocketed from star to sensation.<\/p>\n

But in this World Cup, no matter how long his run lasts, there may not be anyone who has had more fun or been so resoundingly embraced.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great for our country to have a guy like that who almost represents us,\u201d Hammond said. \u201cHopefully he\u2019ll keep winning and the videos will come more.\u201d<\/p>

Read more Conflicting court orders over citizenship data stir more midterm confusion<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A star abroad, the goofy Norwegian striker has captured casual American hearts one social media video at a time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7014,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7019","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nThe World Cup will end. The legend of Erling Haaland will live on. - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7019\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The World Cup will end. The legend of Erling Haaland will live on. - Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A star abroad, the goofy Norwegian striker has captured casual American hearts one social media video at a time.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7019\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-11T11:35:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/296c79b3ccab4ef35f8aab7e15a391f0-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7019#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7019\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"headline\":\"The World Cup will end. The legend of Erling Haaland will live on.\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-11T11:35:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7019\"},\"wordCount\":1197,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7019#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/76e820805c29a4b51259e78387b164c0.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7019#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7019\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7019\",\"name\":\"The World Cup will end. The legend of Erling Haaland will live on. - Moving Insider USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7019#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7019#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/76e820805c29a4b51259e78387b164c0.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-11T11:35:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7019#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7019\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7019#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/76e820805c29a4b51259e78387b164c0.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/76e820805c29a4b51259e78387b164c0.jpg\",\"width\":2420,\"height\":1613,\"caption\":\"Norway's Erling Haaland (9) celebrates the team win during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Ivory Coast and Norway in Arlington, Texas, near Dallas, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (AP Photo\\\/Tony Gutierrez)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7019#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The World Cup will end. The legend of Erling Haaland will live on.\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Moving Insider USA\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The World Cup will end. The legend of Erling Haaland will live on. - Moving Insider USA","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7019","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The World Cup will end. The legend of Erling Haaland will live on. - Moving Insider USA","og_description":"A star abroad, the goofy Norwegian striker has captured casual American hearts one social media video at a time.","og_url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7019","og_site_name":"Moving Insider USA","article_published_time":"2026-07-11T11:35:51+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/296c79b3ccab4ef35f8aab7e15a391f0-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7019#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7019"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03"},"headline":"The World Cup will end. The legend of Erling Haaland will live on.","datePublished":"2026-07-11T11:35:51+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7019"},"wordCount":1197,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7019#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/76e820805c29a4b51259e78387b164c0.jpg","articleSection":["Interesting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7019#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7019","url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7019","name":"The World Cup will end. The legend of Erling Haaland will live on. - Moving Insider USA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7019#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7019#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/76e820805c29a4b51259e78387b164c0.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-11T11:35:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7019#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7019"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7019#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/76e820805c29a4b51259e78387b164c0.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/76e820805c29a4b51259e78387b164c0.jpg","width":2420,"height":1613,"caption":"Norway's Erling Haaland (9) celebrates the team win during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Ivory Coast and Norway in Arlington, Texas, near Dallas, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (AP Photo\/Tony Gutierrez)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7019#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The World Cup will end. The legend of Erling Haaland will live on."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/","name":"Moving Insider USA","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com"],"url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7019","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7019"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7019\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}