"Not even a response, not an excuse, not 'I'm busy tonight, I'm playing football' — nada." Tom Holland said that on live television, and it's exactly the kind of quote that forces a reply. Two days later, Haaland delivered one.
The Manchester City striker commented on The Tonight Show's Instagram clip on July 15: "Dinner invitation accepted @tomholland2013. A little late 😅 Just name the place!" Which is a fairly charming way to acknowledge that you blanked Spider-Man.
How the whole thing started
Holland spotted Haaland at the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix in June, sent him a DM, and got nothing back. The reason, per a post on X that Fallon read out on air: Haaland had no idea who Holland was. Doesn't watch films. Thought he was a random person sliding into his inbox.
That's not a slight — that's just Haaland being Haaland. The man showed up to the World Cup with a taxidermied raccoon and a collection of Hermès bags. He led Viking rows with fans in Dallas. He operates on his own frequency entirely.
Holland handled the public humbling well enough, joking that Haaland probably wouldn't come to dinner "after the other day" — a reference to England knocking Norway out of the World Cup in the quarterfinals. Norway's tournament is over, Haaland's going home, and now apparently his calendar has an opening.
The wider picture
Haaland's profile off the pitch during this World Cup has been something else. Channing Tatum turned up to a Norway match in a Haaland-inspired wig. A-listers are sliding into his DMs. He and his girlfriend Isabel Haugseng Johansen followed the tournament exit by attending the Dolce & Gabbana Alta Sartoria show in matching looks.
For City supporters focused on next season, the more relevant question is what mental state Haaland returns in after Norway's elimination. He wrote on Instagram: "Goodbye 🇺🇸 It's been emotional." He'll have processed the disappointment. He usually does.
The dinner with Holland will probably happen. "Just name the place" tends to mean something when you say it publicly, on the internet, after being called out on Fallon.
