Erling Haaland has been afforded “special treatment” on international duty ahead of Liverpool’s trip to Man City in the FA Cup.
After two weeks of international football, Liverpool return to action on Saturday as they visit Man City in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
Players will be flying back from all corners of the globe in the coming days, but one man who won’t have overly exerted himself is Haaland.
With Norway having already qualified for the World Cup, Haaland was rested for their friendly against the Netherlands and is expected to have his minutes managed against Switzerland on Monday.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - Wednesday, March 4, 2026: Manchester City's Erling Haaland during the FA Premier League match between Manchester City FC and Nottingham Forest FC at the City of Manchester Stadium. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Norway coach Stale Solbakken explained on TV2: “We have to take into account the overall load Erling has been under for a long, long time and based on that, we have concluded that the best solution for all parties is for him to get a necessary break now.
“Our conclusion is that it’s best if Erling participates in at most one of the matches during this international break, and we think it would be nice if he perhaps gets to show himself in front of the Ullevaal crowd against Switzerland.
“It is special treatment precisely because of what Erling has been through both on and off the pitch.
“There is a huge amount of pressure on him, and for me it is by far most important that he delivers at the World Cup in June.”
Haaland has already started 40 club matches this season, so Solbakken is probably right to reduce his minutes for Norway, especially for friendly matches.
Like most clubs, Arsenal have also been attempting to give players rest over the international break, though their methods have arguably been more underhanded.
LONDON, ENGLAND - Sunday, March 22, 2026: Manchester City's Erling Haaland celebrates with the trophy after the Football League Cup Final match between Arsenal FC and Manchester City FC at Wembley Stadium. Man City won 2-0. (Photo by Josh Le Feuvre/Propaganda)
No fewer than 10 Arsenal players have pulled out of their respective international squads during this break: Martin Zubimendi, Piero Hincapie, Noni Madueke, Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba, Eberechi Eze, Leandro Trossard and Jurrien Timber.
Liverpool’s players have been far busier, with Virgil van Dijk, Dominik Szoboszlai, Milos Kerkez, Florian Wirtz, Cody Gakpo, Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Hugo Ekitike, Ibrahima Konate, Andy Robertson and Giorgi Mamardashvili all starting for their countries.
They should begin to return to Merseyside on Wednesday, giving them until Saturday to prepare for the early kick-off against Man City at the Etihad.
In the sky blue corner, Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol missed the Carabao Cup final and are also expected to be absent for the weekend’s FA Cup clash.
Man City‘s only other injury worry is John Stones, who left the England camp due to a knee problem.