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If alone! Erling Haaland could have played for ENGLAND at the World Cup this year after being born in Leeds…
- Erling Haaland has been in devastating form for Manc City so far this season
- The 22-year-old already has 23 goals to his name in just 17 appearances
- However, Haaland will not attend the World Cup after Norway failed to qualify
- Things could have been so different if he had initially chosen to represent England
- Haaland became eligible to play for England after being born in Leeds in 2000
- But he says choosing Norway, the country he grew up in, was a “natural” choice
- Click here for all the latest 2022 World Cup news and updates
Erling Haaland could very well have donned an England shirt at this year’s World Cup in Qatar if he had originally chosen to play for his native country.
Haaland, born in Leeds under father Alf-Inge’s spell at Elland Road, would have previously been eligible to represent England if he had wanted to.
But after moving to Bryne with his family at the age of three, the in-form Manchester City frontman insists it was just “natural” for him to choose Norway instead.
‘I lived here’ [England] three and a half/four years and I’ve lived in Norway for so long, so it made sense that I chose Norway,” Haaland said Goal.
Erling Haaland could very well have donned an England shirt at the World Cup in Qatar this year
“You never know what it would be like if my father might play longer in England or whatever, maybe I’d be English, I don’t know.
“Yeah, I’m Norwegian and I’m proud of that.”
Haaland, who has scored 21 goals in 23 appearances for Norway, will not play in the upcoming World Cup after the Scandinavian country failed to break out of their respective qualifying group.
It is a bitter shame for a player widely regarded as the best in the world right now, a result of his exciting form for City so far this season.
The in-form Man City star was born in Leeds during father Alf-Inge’s spell on Elland Road
But Haaland chose instead to play for Norway after growing up in the Scandinavian country
If things had been different, Gareth Southgate could have chosen him for England
The 22-year-old has taken English football by storm since joining Pep Guardiola in the summer, scoring a whopping 23 goals in 17 games.
As things stand, he is on track to break some Premier League goalscoring records.
Nevertheless, Haaland will have to watch as some of his City team-mates head to Qatar to compete in this year’s World Cup.
When asked how his star striker will spend his break during the tournament, Guardiola said: “He will definitely be in Marbella, or in Norway. It depends on how he behaves in Marbella how good he is for the second half of the season.
“I’m pretty sure he will love being at the World Cup and maybe the next or the European Championship. But he has a house in Marbella, go play golf there, hopefully he doesn’t drink much, eat a lot and come back fit.
Haaland admits he could have been English if his father had stayed longer in the country
“This is the first time in our lives that this has happened, so we don’t know how players will come back from the World Cup. If six come back as champions, they will be very happy, or they may come back depressed.
“Some may be out early and on vacation. But a lot of players will miss the World Cup because of the crazy matches.
“We’ll see when they come back, we’ll smell it and then the daily routine will adjust.”