"No, not me. I'm the social media guy." That was Erling Haaland — four goals in two World Cup games, joint-second in the Golden Boot race — convincing two American women he was absolutely nobody worth photographing.
The clip, shared by TSN, shows the Norway striker in full Southern drawl mode alongside a companion. One of the women was clearly suspicious: "Somebody just told me that one of you is like the biggest soccer player in the world." Haaland held firm. His mate suggested they take photos anyway, and Haaland signed off with a breezy "No worries y'all."
"That's your American Southern accent," one of the women noted. "Certainly is, dawg," the man who has scored 59 goals in 52 Norway appearances replied, completely deadpan.
The goals are doing the talking anyway
The prank lands funnier when you consider where Haaland actually stands in this tournament. A brace against Iraq in a 4-1 opening win. Two more against Senegal in a 3-2 thriller. Four goals from two games on Norway's first World Cup appearance in 28 years — and they can top Group D entirely if they beat two-time champions France at Boston's Foxborough Stadium on Friday.
He's level on five goals with Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappé, one behind Lionel Messi's tournament-leading tally of five. Norway's top scorer in qualifying with 16 goals, he's now carrying that form onto the biggest stage. His Golden Boot odds look worth a second glance before the France game kicks off.
Asked about his scoring instinct after the Senegal match, Haaland was characteristically Haaland about it: "It's my speciality to score goals. It's like many other things, I'm just really good at scoring goals. And I'm quite lucky. I don't know what I'm doing. But yeah. That's just how it is."
25 World Cup goals including qualifiers. 59 in 52 for his country. The social media guy is having quite the tournament.
