Erling Haaland will walk out in Miami on Saturday night to face England – the country of his birth – with seven World Cup goals already to his name, a two-year-old son, and a long-term partner who, he admits, made the first move. The Norway striker, who has scored a brace against Brazil in the last 16, is one behind Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race. But the match also pits him directly against his Manchester City team-mates, something that pundit Wayne Rooney believes gives Haaland an edge. England’s back four could feature current City stars Marc Guehi, Nico O’Reilly and John Stones. “He’ll have an advantage,” Rooney told BBC Sport.
Off the pitch, Haaland’s life is quieter. He and his partner, Isabel Haugseng Johansen, are from the same Norwegian town, Bryne, where his father Alf-Inge settled after playing for City and Leeds. They played for the same junior club but didn’t connect until Haaland had moved to Borussia Dortmund. “She sent me a message,” he told NRK with a grin. “She played for the same club I played for, Bryne, so she checked me out. I didn’t check her out.” He added: “I was single for quite a while. From my experience, you find your girlfriend when you least expect it. If you’re always looking for a girlfriend, you’ll never find one.” The couple have a son, born in December 2024.
“Haaland faces England with seven World Cup goals, a gaming partner, and an edge over City team-mates.”
When asked what a romantic evening looks like, Haaland revealed a shared passion: “It’s going to be quite embarrassing for her that I say this, but she likes to game too. So we game Minecraft together. We just sit and game and make houses together and everything like that. Or we go home to Bryne and order kebabs.” Haugseng Johansen, an ex-footballer who no longer appears to play, has built a following of 72,000 on Instagram and has posted regularly from the World Cup, including a reel of her in a Norway shirt, denim skirt and cowboy boots.
Now, Haaland will be looking to shoot down some of his City friends. The Three Lions have been warned: stopping a striker who has already scored seven times in the tournament, including a brace against Brazil, will require more than just a team-mate’s inside knowledge.