Erling Haaland walked into the tunnel ahead of Norway’s World Cup quarterfinal against England and immediately ran into some familiar faces. Cameras caught him chatting with Manchester City teammates Nico O’Reilly, John Stones and Marc Guehi. A quick handshake, a couple of laughs, then it was time to go to work.
The moment was brief but telling. Haaland has been at City since 2022, so he’s played alongside Stones — now a free agent — for his entire run with the club. O’Reilly came up through City’s academy and joined the senior squad in 2024, meaning he’s basically been around Haaland since day one of his Premier League career. Guehi only arrived from Crystal Palace in January 2026, so that’s about half a season of locker room chemistry.
That Man City connection runs deeper than just the three guys in the video. Backup England goalkeeper James Trafford also came through City’s youth system. He wasn’t caught on camera but he was on the bench. Norway’s Oscar Bobb spent time with City’s youth and senior sides before moving to Fulham in 2026.
More Than Just City Teammates
Haaland didn’t just see blue shirts across the field. England midfielder Jude Bellingham and Haaland played together at Borussia Dortmund from 2020 to 2022. That’s two years of training sessions, bus rides and Champions League nights in Germany. So yeah, there’s history there.
This game was basically a club reunion dressed up as a World Cup knockout match. Two teams, one tunnel, a whole lot of shared locker rooms.
Other Club Connections on the Pitch
Norway captain Martin Odegaard lines up with Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze at Arsenal every week. That’s four English internationals who know exactly how Odegaard likes to receive the ball. On the other side, England backup goalkeeper Dean Henderson plays at Crystal Palace alongside Norway’s Jorgen Strand Larsen. So they’ve probably swapped a few penalty tips in training.
It’s one of those moments that makes international tournaments fun. Club rivalries get paused for a few weeks, then you see guys who spend all year together suddenly trying to knock each other out of the World Cup. Haaland seemed to enjoy the pregame chat. It probably didn’t last long though. Once the whistle blows, teammates turn into opponents pretty fast.
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