Paul Scholes Thinks England Will Hit a Wall at the World Cup. Here’s Which Team Scares Him.

Paul Scholes has never been one to sugarcoat things. So when the Manchester United legend sat down for a podcast with Nicky Butt and offered his honest read on England’s World Cup chances, it wasn’t exactly sunshine and rainbows.

England just knocked off Mexico in a gutsy 3-2 win at the Azteca Stadium, surviving the final stretch with 10 men after Jarell Quansah got sent off. Next up is Norway in the quarterfinals, and that means one thing: Erling Haaland. The Manchester City striker already has seven goals this tournament, including a brace that sent Brazil packing in the round of 16.

Scholes thinks England can get past Norway. But he’s not optimistic about what comes after that.

“I think we’d have beat Brazil quite easily. I just think we’d have been too good, too physical for the middle of the pitch,” Scholes said on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast. “I still think we’d beat Norway, but Haaland…”

Butt brought up how Scandinavian teams always seem to cause England problems. Scholes agreed, and then he dropped his real concern.

“I never liked playing against them. Sweden and Denmark. They’re like robots,” Scholes said. “We should beat Norway. Once we play a good team, I think we’re in big trouble.”

That’s the key line right there. Scholes isn’t exactly calling Norway a pushover. But he’s clearly looking past them at the semifinal opponent — likely Argentina, Spain or France — and he doesn’t like what he sees.

Scholes also shut down the idea that England’s defenders have an edge because they face Haaland every week in the Premier League.

“(There is) no advantage against him, right. He can do what he wants to,” Scholes said. “Brazil probably thought ‘Gabriel plays against him, he’d be alright, he’d be fine.’ He destroyed him, bullied him.”

Instead of obsessing over Haaland, Scholes thinks the real key is Martin Odegaard. The Arsenal playmaker runs everything for Norway, and Scholes believes cutting off his supply lines is the only way to slow Haaland down.

“I think the bigger plan is to stop Odegaard. He does everything. He’s incredible. He builds all their play for him, doesn’t he? Everything goes through him,” Scholes said. “I think the biggest way to stop Haaland is stop the service to him.”

So what’s the bottom line from Scholes? England’s defenders are going to need the game of their lives. And even then, they might need more than a clean sheet.

“We’re gonna have to score more than them,” he said.