Haaland-Kane duel expected to define Norway-England World Cup quarter-final in Miami

MIAMI, United States (AFP) — Norway head coach Stale Solbakken believes the individual contest between Erling Haaland and Harry Kane could go a far way in deciding his side's World Cup quarter-final against England on Saturday.

Haaland has scored seven times across his first four appearances at a senior international tournament, carrying Norway into the last eight on their return to the World Cup after a 28-year gap. Kane trails the Manchester City striker by just one goal on the tournament chart, having raised his World Cup total to 14 while helping England reach a third straight quarter-final.

"I think it's Norway versus England but I don't think it is a secret that Kane is the match winner number one for England and Haaland is the match winner number one for us," Solbakken said at his pre-match press conference in Miami.

England's Thomas Tuchel was hired by the Football Association to guide a talented generation over the line after a run of narrow failures at major tournaments under his predecessor, Gareth Southgate. Norway, by comparison, are playing in their first major tournament of any kind in 26 years and have surpassed expectations — most notably in a 2-1 upset of Brazil in the last 16, sealed by Haaland's late double.

"Every game has been the most important (in history) for Norwegian football, especially in the knockout rounds, so this is the third time it is the most important game," Solbakken added. "I feel the players are in a relaxed but competitive mood."

"I think England has more pressure than us, but we also put pressure on our performance. When the game has started I don't think the players think so much about the pressure when it's eleven versus eleven."

Norway's run has stirred excitement at home and among supporters across the Atlantic in the United States. Their fans' Viking row celebration has become one of the standout images of the tournament, while Haaland's standing as a global star has climbed through his scoring on the pitch and his cheerful manner off it.

"I think the whole of Norway is looking forward to tomorrow. We've had some great nights in this World Cup before and it brings the country together," Solbakken said. "Maybe this will never come back to Norway because I think we will qualify more. Every time (now) we have a possibility to go through to a European Championship or a World Cup. But now it's 26 years since we had it last time."

The south Florida fixture could be affected by severe heat and humidity around the 5:00 pm local time (2100 GMT) kick-off. Miami is under a heat advisory from the US National Weather Service, with "feels like" temperatures expected to climb past 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

"We have trained very lightly. We haven't done much hard work. We are with the tactical sessions, but in a lower tempo and not trained for long periods. So it's all about being fresh tomorrow," said Solbakken, whose squad have trained in Miami for the past three days. Both countries, he said, will have to adjust to the same conditions.