Morgan Rogers knows there is no escaping Erling Haaland's brilliance, but the England attacking midfielder insists the Three Lions can stop the supply to Norway's prolific marksman. Speaking ahead of the World Cup quarter-final against Norway in Miami, Rogers acknowledged the scale of the challenge posed by the Manchester City striker, who has fired blank in his past four appearances against Aston Villa.
“Has anyone ever stopped Erling Haaland? I'm not sure they have but we are going to have to try,” Rogers said. “I think he's such an unbelievable player, the things he does, the numbers he puts up, you're just in awe of how good he is and the level he's at.”
“Morgan Rogers says England cannot stop Erling Haaland but can stop his supply ahead of World Cup quarter-final against Norway.”
Rogers, 23, outlined England's plan to neutralise the danger: “We're going to have to maybe try and stop how they play and work on those things and stop how the balls go into him and how he gets his chances because he's so deadly in front of goal.” He cautioned, however, that Norway are not a one-man team, pointing to captain Martin Odegaard and other Premier League regulars as significant threats. “They're a really good team. I think that's what their biggest super strength is, that as a team, as a unit, they're so strong.”
With a World Cup final on the line, Rogers admits the temptation to look ahead is real. “We're human and you can't help think that every game win is a step closer to the end goal but at the same time if you take your eye off the ball for any second I think that's where you can get punished,” he said. “In this game it's really fine margins. It can be mentality of going into a game that can decide the game and be the difference so I think we have to dust ourselves off.”
England have broken down the tournament into stages to keep focus, but the excitement is palpable. “We're all human and we're all excited as we should be,” Rogers added. The question now is whether England's discipline can outlast the individual brilliance of a player who has already scored seven times in this World Cup. If they fail to cut off the supply, Haaland could make them pay.