Erling Haaland will look a little different when lining up for Norway during their World Cup qualifiers next month. The Manchester City ace is the poster boy of Norwegian football and is hoping to guide his nation to its first major tournament in over 25 years.
Haaland wasn’t even born the last time Norway graced a major tournament stage, with their last appearance coming at Euro 2000. With somewhat of a golden generation having emerged in recent years, hopes are high that the Scandinavian outfit can end their hiatus and qualify for next summer’s 2026 World Cup.
Norway will resume their pursuit of World Cup qualification in a few weeks time, but when Haaland likely lines up ahead of the clash with Moldova, the name on his shirt will have changed. That’s because his jersey will instead read “Braut Haaland” rather than just “Haaland.”
It’s an acknowledgement of his mother’s family name and in Norway, it’s commonplace to be referred to by both parents’ surnames. When quizzed on the change, Norway manager Stale Solbakken said: “That's his name [Braut], it's no longer that difficult. I knew nothing of it until now.”
His mother, Gry Marita Braut, might be less known than his father, Alf-Inge Haaland, on these shores, but she also boasts sporting pedigree. Gry was a renowned Norwegian heptathlete champion during the 1990s and goes some way to explaining her son’s incredible athletic tendencies.
It’s claimed that the football icon broke a standing long jump world record for his age group at five years old. Explaining how Haaland used to excel at a variety of sports as a child, his dad said: "It was before [Erling] started playing football. We used to take him to athletics so he could test himself.
“Erling played handball, athletics and cross-country skiing until he turned 14. Versatility is important. You get to develop completely different sides of the body, and that can be positive no matter what you do."
It’s paid off so far in his career, with Haaland having established himself as one of football’s most devastating strikers. But had things worked out slightly differently, he might’ve been sporting the red of Manchester United instead of rivals City.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who worked with Haaland at Molde before moving to United, said: “I called United about six months before I took over and told them that I'd got this striker that we had but they didn't listen. I asked for £4million for Haaland but they didn't sign him.”