Erling Haaland has jetted off to enjoy a well-deserved break after his exploits at the World Cup, although the Norwegian doesn’t seem to be resting too much.
The Manchester City striker shared a shirtless snap of himself soaking in the sunshine poolside in a pair of luminous shorts on Monday.
It’s not exactly clear where Haaland is holidaying, but his caption read: ‘just enjoying the sunshine’.
However, for arguably the world’s best striker, work doesn’t stop. Just hours later the 25-year-old posted a clip of himself sprinting up a hill in seemingly sweltering temperatures.
‘BUILT DIFFERENT RUN,’ the forward wrote to his millions of Instagram followers.
Haaland’s trip comes just days after his and Norway’s journey in this summer’s North American World Cup came to an end against England in Miami.
Erling Haaland has jetted away for a well-deserved break days after Norway were knocked out of the World Cup
The Man City star’s caption read: ‘just enjoying the sun’
After Haaland netted twice to seal his country a historic 2-1 victory against Brazil in the Round of 16, England’s preparation for the clash would no doubt have been centred around keeping him quiet.
But in temperatures soaring beyond 35C in Florida, the Norway star struggled to make an impact, recording just 21 touches before he was substituted in extra-time.
His withdrawal came just moments after Jude Bellingham fired home England’s second, sparking surprise amongst viewers that Stale Solbakken would substitute Haaland when his country needed a goal.
However the Norwegian revealed in his post-match press conference that the ex-Borussia Dortmund forward was suffering with an injury.
He said: ‘It was not a tough decision to take him out. He was finished. Maybe I should have taken him out 10 minutes before.
‘He also got a dead leg in the second half so that, combined with the fatigue, he had done everything he could.’
The run to the quarter-finals marked the furthers Norway had ever gone at a World Cup, beating their previous best of the Round of 16 in 1998. That tournament, incidentally, was the last which the Vikings qualified for prior to this summer’s event.
After making it through a difficult group including France, Senegal and Iraq, Haaland and Co beat Ivory Coast and then Brazil to set up the clash with England, which ultimately proved to be one step too far.
The squad were given a hero’s welcome as they arrived back in Scandinavia earlier this week, with thousands of fans lining the streets of Oslo to greet them.
Supporters and the team performed the Viking Row, the celebration which has become a vital feature of their World Cup campaign, with Crown Prince Haakon beating the drum. Later, the squad enjoyed an open-top bus tour through the city.
Haaland admitted after the loss to England that the World Cup helped to raise both his own profile as a global superstar and Norway’s as a footballing nation.
He said: ‘These things are surreal; I think this has changed me as a person. I think my profile has grown a bit, let’s put it that way, and it’s hard to even process it all right now when I look back at the games.
Haaland bagged seven goals in six games at the World Cup, but failed to make an impact against England
‘But it’s been incredible to be part of an event like this – something I used to watch from the sidelines, now I’m living it first-hand.
‘I feel immense pride, and I’m genuinely moved when I think about how well we performed, the sense of unity back in Norway and the positivity and joy we’ve felt both there and here.’
He added: ‘We proved that it’s possible to beat one of the biggest teams in the world, Brazil. We lost to England in the end, but we made them fight for it.
‘Perhaps it could have gone differently. We’ve got more World Cups and Euros ahead of us. I think it’s time for us to really establish ourselves. We’ve got a fantastic generation.’
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