Could Erling Haaland really have played for England? Man City's goal machine is one of the biggest stars who will miss Euro 2024
Erling Haaland is one of the biggest names in world football, but he will not participate in this summer's European Championship.
In spite of the city of manchester striker who has broken scoring records since his arrival in England, will not be able to add to his impressive numbers on the big stage of Euro 2024.
Haaland recorded an unprecedented 36-goal campaign as City lifted the Premier League last year but couldn't help Norway to ensure qualification for Europe's elite international tournament.
His national team finished third behind Spain and Scotland in their qualifying group, while results elsewhere denied them a play-off place to keep their hopes alive.
This means that the Scandinavian country wait 24 years participating in a major tournament continues, but things could have been very different for the triple winner.
Could Erling Haaland have played for England?
Haaland was born in leedsWest Yorkshire, as his father and former professional footballer, Alfie Haaland, who also represented Norway at international level, played for Leeds United At the time.
Read more about Erling Haaland
This means fans could have seen the Premier League's top scorer sporting a Three lions shirt, if he hadn't sworn allegiance to the country he moved to as a child.
In an interview with GOAL, the 23-year-old said of his potential international career: “I lived here (England) for three and a half or four years and I lived in Norway for a long time. So it was natural for me to choose Norway.
“You never know what it would be like if my dad played longer in England or whatever. Maybe he would be English, I don't know. But yeah, I'm Norwegian and I'm proud of it.”
england coach Gareth Southgate He also confirmed in 2020 that the Norwegian star had always been committed to his current team.
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He said: “We are always trying to monitor those cases, but I think in that case Norway caught it quite early.
“And I think also, with players like him, they are quite clear about where they want to play.
“He feels that loyalty to the country he plays for now and you're always very respectful of that.”
While Haaland is clearly a proud Norwegian, he might well wonder what would have happened when his English teammates, including Phil Foden, Kyle Walker and Juan PiedrasIn June he travels to Germany.
