England face Norway and Haaland, the Leeds-born star who got away

Erling Haaland will be the man England fear most when they face Norway in the World Cup quarter-finals on Saturday (22:00 BST) – but the Manchester City striker, born in Leeds, could have been lining up for the Three Lions had he opted to represent the country of his birth. Instead, he is the most potent threat to Thomas Tuchel’s side in Miami, where the match will be played after England’s storm-delayed last-16 win over Mexico. That tie in Mexico City started an hour late due to lightning and heavy rain, and now the Three Lions face a different kind of storm: a disciplinary one. Four major England stars are one booking away from a semi-final ban, with Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham confirmed to be on the warning list. Rice, the Arsenal midfielder tasked with breaking up counter-attacks, must time his tackles perfectly during the Saturday kick-off. Bellingham, the Real Madrid playmaker instrumental to England’s success, carries a dangerous yellow card into the tie. Any player who picks up a booking in the quarter-finals will be completely ruled out of the semi-finals if their nation progresses. The expanded World Cup’s yellow-card rules mean cautions are wiped after the quarter-finals to protect players for the final – but only for those who escape suspension. Meanwhile, 20 of the 26 players in Tuchel’s squad were eligible to play for other nations but committed to England. Haaland is not the only one who slipped through the net: Antoine Semenyo, Michael Olise, Scott McTominay, and others could have represented the Three Lions. For now, England must stop the one who got away – without losing their own key men to suspension.