Erling Haaland arrived at his first World Cup already one of the most prolific scorers in international football. Prior to the tournament in North America, he had scored 55 goals in 50 caps for Norway, netting 21 goals in just 14 World Cup qualifying appearances to help fire his nation to their first finals since 1998.
That record made his tournament debut one of the most anticipated storylines heading into the finals, and he has delivered on it in full.
Haaland has scored seven goals in four matches at this World Cup, level with Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe at the top of the Golden Boot standings.
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His goals have come against Iraq, Senegal, Ivory Coast and a second half brace against Brazil that eliminated the five-time champions in the round of 16. He was rested for Norway’s dead rubber defeat to France after already securing qualification.
Remarkably, he has needed only 18 shots to reach seven goals, a conversion rate of 39 percent, and is averaging just one goal every 14 touches of the ball.
Those numbers have already rewritten the record books. His seven goals equal Grzegorz Lato’s record for most goals scored in a debut World Cup since 1974, and alone surpass the combined first tournament tallies of Messi, Mbappe and Cristiano Ronaldo.
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His three multi-goal games rank third all time in a single edition, behind only Just Fontaine and Sandor Kocsis, while his four match winning goals put him fourth on that all time list.
His touches per goal ratio is also the lowest for any three-goal-plus scorer in a World Cup over the last 60 years.
Haaland now turns his attention to England and Harry Kane in the quarter-final, a Golden Boot rivalry that could decide who leads the race heading into the final stretch.
Photo: REUTERS/Dylan Martinez
