Haaland kicks off the mind games by claiming all the pressure is on England

The Manchester City ace kicked off the mind games by insisting the Three Lions are favourites to advance to the final four.

Having finished second in Group I, Stale Solbakken’s men beat Ivory Coast and Brazil to prove their credentials as serious contenders.

But Haaland, who has netted seven goals at the tournament, mischievously played down his team’s chances of coming out on top in Miami.

Asked by journalists whether the pressure is on Thomas Tuchel’s side, he responded: “Yes, definitely. I think there's some clear favourites out there — England’s one of them.

"I think all of you should put every single pressure on the English lads. They should be confident of progressing, definitely. It's England."

Haaland, 25, insists Norway have already exceeded expectations in North America. He added: "I didn't expect it. To be honest, to be in the quarter-finals with Norway in the World Cup is quite surprising even for me.

"Playing against Brazil was kind of crazy for us Norwegians. To win and then go and play England in the USA is quite special.

"It's difficult to take everything in because you need to kind of just play the game like it's a training session.

"I think if you watch the scenes back in Norway, this is not normal, so it's super special."

Haaland’s popularity has surged during the World Cup, with Americans taking a particular liking to him.

Hours after scoring the winner in the last-32 clash against Ivory Coast, he went shopping in Dallas for cowboy hats and boots.

The red-hot striker filmed the excursion for his YouTube channel — and the video notched more than 6.5 million views in less than a week.

He said: “It's a good thing because I like the Americans, I think they are kind of hilarious as well. They are funny, so I like the way they are.

"I think it's just good. Honestly, on every single thing with the World Cup so far here it has been amazing. From the games to the stadiums, everything has been amazing.

"The training ground where we train has been amazing, so I'm super happy. It's been impressive.

"I like to joke a little bit, I like to have fun. I think that's a key for my daily life to joke around and, of course, train good, focus well and prepare well.

“But you also need to joke around and enjoy the moment. We have to enjoy it because nothing lasts forever. We have to just enjoy while we're here."

England fans will hope Norway's joker in the pack does not have too much fun tomorrow evening.  

DAZN/FIFA

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