Prateek Tanmay
FIFA World Cup in the USA means a Norwegian Haaland has to be a part of the spectacle.
32 years after his father Alf-Inge Haaland played at 1994 World Cup, 25-year-old Erling, the flexible giant of Man City, will be in North America and Mexico – playing his first quadrennial.
Being at the World Cup is not as common an occurrence for the Scandinavian nation who have only been there three times – 1938, 1994, 1998. It was in that 1994 edition where Sr Haaland was part of the squad.
Nowhere near close to what Martin Odegaard, Jr Haaland and Atletico forward Alexander Sorloth bring to the team, the 1994 iteration with a Haaland has disappeared without a trace. Erling’s Norway however have singularly driven out Italy during the 2026 qualification, as the Azzuri never recovered from that early blow.
In a FIFA reel shot ahead of the 2026 edition, Erling is handed a picture of his father Alf-Inge from 7 years before he was even born. “He looks so young. So weird to see him.
I was thinking it was something like this,” he says ahead of his debut, adding, “It’s a bit weird to have a father who played the World Cup.”
What strikes him the most in the photograph handed to him is Alf-Inge’s longish locks. “Never seen him with this long hair in my life. It’s a good photo.Wish he had hair a bit longer now as well,” he laughs.
The 53-year-old who went by the name Alf-Inge Rasdal Haaland played as a right back or midfielder for Norway, besides Man City, Nottingham Forest and Leeds in the premiership in the 1990s. Starting at Forest, he was part of the Leeds squad that made UEFA semis. He met Gry Marita Braut, a heptathlete, during his Nottingham stint, and Erling was his youngest of three children.
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He had copped a penalty for standing beside an injured Roy Keane hinting he was faking an ACL crisis in 1997. When he joined Man City, Keane tackled him viciously kicking him on his right knee three years later, and was sent off promptly for what in his autobiography was described as a “deliberate act” as revenge. “I really dislike United and I can’t stand their players,” Alf-Inge told Irish Independent. He however clarified that his subsequent long term injury on the left knee was not due to Keane.
It did however seem to decide why Erling followed tradition to play at City.
Senior had scored a goal against run of play in 1997 against Liverpool at Anfield, and had almost a mirror goal scored by Erling for Salzburg in 2019.
Man City was his last stint in England, after which he took a break for 8 years to tend to his injuries, and returned to play for Rosseland in Norway third division, before retiring in 2013.
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Speaking of the 1994 World Cup photograph, Erling would recall, “I’ve seen this shirt at home..No 18, at our house,” he would say of the white jersey with Viking horns in national colours on the side, and a typically merry vibe.
When asked if his father would bring the US to watch him, Erling would tell FIFA, “Everyone’s coming. It’s gonna be a nice gathering, a nice experience.”
