Erling Haaland has once again pushed all the pressure on to an opponent as Norway get set to face England in the World Cup Round of 16 in Miami on Saturday (5 p.m. ET; Fox).
England are ranked fourth in the FIFA rankings, while Norway are 19th. The Three Lions reached the quarterfinals in Qatar four years ago and have finished as runners-up in each of the past two European Championships. The Round of 16 matchup will provide another difficult test for Haaland and company after knocking off Côte d'Ivoire and Brazil to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time ever at a World Cup.
Even with Haaland, currently solo second in the Golden Boot race on seven goals, and Martin Ødegaard, tied for third with three ***** ists, leading the way, Norway's talisman still sees his side with long odds at lifting the World Cup trophy on July 19 in New Jersey.
"Really low, still," Haaland said. "I think there's some clear favorites out there, England's one of them. I think all of you [reporters] should put every single pressure on the English lads," he said with a laugh.
This isn't the first time in this tournament that Haaland has downplayed his team's chances and attempted to shift focus elsewhere. Before Norway's group-stage finale against France, he said he did not care about the result since both sides had already reached the knockout stage and tipped France to win it all.
England are ranked fourth in the FIFA rankings, while Norway are 19th. The Three Lions reached the quarterfinals in Qatar four years ago and have finished as runners-up in each of the past two European Championships. The Round of 16 matchup will provide another difficult test for Haaland and company after knocking off Côte d'Ivoire and Brazil to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time ever at a World Cup.
Even with Haaland, currently solo second in the Golden Boot race on seven goals, and Martin Ødegaard, tied for third with three ***** ists, leading the way, Norway's talisman still sees his side with long odds at lifting the World Cup trophy on July 19 in New Jersey.
"Really low, still," Haaland said. "I think there's some clear favorites out there, England's one of them. I think all of you [reporters] should put every single pressure on the English lads," he said with a laugh.
This isn't the first time in this tournament that Haaland has downplayed his team's chances and attempted to shift focus elsewhere. Before Norway's group-stage finale against France, he said he did not care about the result since both sides had already reached the knockout stage and tipped France to win it all.
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