Erling Haaland, the scorer of the Norwegian national team, shared his emotions after the painful defeat by England (1:2) in the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup. The striker is convinced that the team's performances in the tournament established Norway among the best in the world.
Speaking about the difficult confrontation against England and the outcome of the game, Haaland did not hide his disappointment, but emphasized the tremendous work done by the team.
"Honestly, the feelings are very heavy. I think we deserved more and were very close to beating England. There is a kind of emptiness inside me, but at the same time, great pride. In the end, we reached the quarter-finals and gave England a real fight. My emotions are really mixed," said the Norwegian sincerely.
Referring to the two controversial decisions made by the head referee at crucial moments, the forward tried to maintain objectivity.
"Sometimes the outcome of the championship is literally determined by individual episodes. In the previous match against Brazil, we managed to break the trend, and even before today's match, the chances were 50/50. England is a very strong team, the game turned out to be difficult."
Despite leaving the tournament, Haaland is confident that they have achieved a historic result for their country. According to the BBC, the attacker especially emphasized the support of the fans.
"We are very touched by the fact that we performed so well and it brought together the entire people of Norway. There are huge positive charges and joy in our country now. All this is still difficult to realize. this is a completely crazy event that you have to experience in person. That was my goal. I wanted to glorify Norway and establish us as one of the best teams in the world. I think we succeeded," he concluded.
In his debut World Cup, Erling Haaland recorded a brilliant performance, scoring 7 goals in 6 matches.
After overcoming the ban of Norway, England will compete with the current world champion Argentina in the semi-finals. Spain and France made the other semi-final pair.
AA-2026 is being held in the USA, Canada and Mexico and will end on July 19.
