Silencing World Cup hotshot Haaland vital, says England’s O’Reilly

KANSAS CITY: Keeping Erling Haaland quiet would be “huge” but the Norwegian juggernaut is not the only threat to England in their World Cup quarter-final, Manchester City teammate Nico O’Reilly said on Thursday.

Haaland has been at his rampaging best at the 2026 tournament, scoring seven goals to fire his team into the quarter-finals for the first time.

There will be plenty of club connections across the pitch in Miami on Saturday, with Haaland likely coming up against O’Reilly and centre-back Marc Guehi.

Arsenal are also well represented, with Norway captain Martin Odegaard potentially facing Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka.

Thomas Tuchel’s men reached the last eight after a captivating backs-to-the-wall win against co-hosts Mexico, during which they were reduced to 10 men when defender Jarell Quansah was sent off.

Left-back O’Reilly told reporters at England’s base in Kansas City that Haaland was the main man for Norway but said the team were not a one-man band.

“No, not at all,” he said. “They’ve got great players all around the pitch who can cause a lot of danger.

“They’ve showed that this tournament, obviously, getting to the quarter-final and creating history for themselves. But yes, of course, if we can keep him quiet, it would be a huge factor.”

The 21-year-old played down concerns over England’s defence, which has been hit by injuries and a two-match suspension for Quansah.

“It’s not ideal, obviously, but we’ve got great players here,” he said. “As you’ve seen in the last game, the impact from the bench to go in the back line and be so solid with 10 men – it’s not an issue.”

Arsenal forward Saka said England posed a “unique threat”, with players across the pitch capable of scoring and creating, even though Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham have accounted for 10 of the team’s 11 goals so far.

He admitted the Three Lions had the advantage of more experience at the sharp end of tournaments and did not shy away from stating that their ultimate aim was to win the World Cup.

England have regularly been contenders in recent years but have not won a major trophy since they lifted the World Cup on home soil 60 years ago.

“That’s obviously our goal,” said Saka. “But we’re just focused on the next game because we know right now there’s literally three games between that. So we’re just focused on Norway now and then it will be the semi-final.”

The 24-year-old said England had mentally reset after their dramatic victory at the Estadio Azteca.

“The focus really is putting Mexico behind us now, all the emotions and the drama from that game,” he said.

“We’ve soaked it all in, and now we’re just preparing for Norway because we know it’s going to be a tough game in Miami.”