Erling Haaland Has Already Won the World Cup

Erling Haaland is one of the best soccer players in the world, and right now he is putting on a show at the World Cup. The Norwegian striker has scored four goals in his first two World Cup games — two against Iraq on June 16 and two more against Senegal on Monday. Norway won both games and has already moved on to the next round of the tournament. For Haaland, just being at the World Cup feels like a win, and everything else is a bonus.

Haaland is known for his love of man-buns, Viking history, and unusual foods like cow heart. He plays for Manchester City in club soccer and has 59 goals in just 52 games for Norway. According to the stats website StatMuse, that is the best goals-per-game rate of any player with more than 50 international goals in the last 100 years. He has also scored at least one goal in each of Norway's last 12 competitive matches in a row.

Other big stars are also playing well at this World Cup. Argentina's Lionel Messi has five goals so far, including a hat trick against Algeria. France's Kylian Mbappé has four goals, and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo scored two on Tuesday in a 5–1 win over Uzbekistan. These players are all amazing, but they carry something Haaland does not — huge pressure from their home countries to win the whole tournament.

Messi won the World Cup with Argentina four years ago in Qatar, but Argentine fans want to win again. That would be their fourth title, putting them just one behind rival Brazil for the most World Cup wins ever. France, one of the favorites to win it all, wants to make up for losing the 2022 final to Argentina. England's Harry Kane is under a lot of stress too, since England has not won a World Cup since 1966 — and after he missed an easy shot in a 0–0 tie with Ghana, a Ghanaian witch doctor reportedly even put a curse on him.

Haaland's situation is very different from all of those players. Norway last made it to the World Cup back in 1998, so just reaching this tournament is already a big deal for the team. Haaland himself told TIME magazine last summer that Norway had about a 0.5% chance of winning the whole thing. That relaxed attitude means he is not weighed down by huge expectations, and it seems to be helping him play his very best soccer.

Norway actually has a very laid-back approach to youth sports. Kids are encouraged to try many different activities and play close to home instead of traveling far for tournaments. Younger children don't even keep score in their competitions. That kind of culture means no matter what happens at the World Cup, Haaland will still be loved back home.

After Norway beat Senegal 3–2 on Monday, Haaland led his teammates in the Viking Row — a famous Norwegian fan cheer where people link arms and pump them together in a slow rhythm. The cheer has gone viral, showing up on an escalator in Boston, on a New York City subway, and in the middle of Times Square. Haaland has been sharing videos of kids and elderly people doing the Viking Row on his Instagram, and before the Senegal game, he took a stroll around New York City and even stopped at the famous Katz's Delicatessen sandwich shop.

Next up, Norway faces France on Friday in Foxboro, Massachusetts, with both teams undefeated so far. It will also be a matchup between Haaland and Mbappé, two of the world's best young stars, and soccer fans have been looking forward to it since the World Cup draw in December. But Haaland seems very relaxed about the whole thing. He even predicted France would probably win the game — and maybe the whole tournament — and said it all with a big smile. Knowing Haaland, he will probably score a hat trick anyway.