It is common in decisive games for a team to want to shift favoritism to the other side. But Norwegian Erling Haaland’s candid manner at the World Cup has been almost surprising.
After scoring the winning goal against Ivory Coast, which put the Norwegians in the round of 16, the number 9 was emphatic about the chances of defeating Brazil in the next match: “Very small”.
The statement came as he left the field, when he was asked about what he was feeling about the chance to play against Brazil, in the round of 16, in New Jersey.
“This is crazy. Facing Brazil in the round of 16 is simply surreal. So just enjoy it, be happy and see it as a great journey”, he said with a smile on his face.
“And what do you think of your chances?” the reporter wanted to know. “Very small”, he summarized.
After the match and the celebration with the Viking rowing, coach Stale Solbakken was also asked about the next clash, against Carlo Ancelotti’s team, on Sunday (5).
Less emphatic than Haaland, he only commented that he will talk about Brazil another day, pointing out Carlo Ancelotti’s team as one of the favorites.
“We know that we will face one of the contenders for the World Cup title. But I prefer to talk about Brazil when we are closer to the match. Today is not a day to discuss Brazil, it is a day to celebrate what our team has achieved.”
It is not the first time in this World Cup that Haaland has taken his sincerity to the extreme. After securing qualification against Senegal in the first phase, he was asked about a possible rest against France or whether he would face Mbappé.
“I don’t care. We’re already classified. They [franceses] They’ll probably beat us and be champions,” he told Fox Sports channel.
“Winning the World Cup? Absolutely not. I think we should be a little realistic and be happy [com a classificação]”, he added.
The number 9 has five goals in this World Cup and is behind only Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé, with six each.
