Haaland's Full Firepower Meets England's Iron Defense: One Defender Silences Him, Another Becomes an ATM

Erling Haaland makes scoring goals at the World Cup look effortless. The striker, in his first World Cup campaign, has already netted seven times, repeatedly tearing apart world-class defenses and effortlessly converting milestone goals.

In this tournament, Haaland scored Norway’s first goal; he broke the deadlock in the team’s first-ever knockout victory; and in the first quarterfinal appearance, he struck twice to seal the win.

The superstar forward currently plays for the lowest-ranked team among the remaining eight, but his upcoming opponent—England—is a familiar face. Can Haaland maintain his form against Gareth Southgate’s center-backs?

Haaland, who has played for Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund, has direct experience against all four of England’s potential starting center-backs. Here is a breakdown of those duels.

The 2.01-meter Dan Burn is a classic towering defender who curbs Haaland’s prolific output. In eight meetings, Haaland has scored only one goal and provided three assists. Burn’s aerial dominance and physical strength repeatedly disrupt the Norwegian’s runs into the box. Although Newcastle failed to win any of those eight matches, Burn successfully limited Haaland’s ability to score in bursts—though Manchester City still controlled proceedings overall. Haaland’s only goal against Burn came in a 3-3 Premier League draw, scored in the 61st minute.

Unlike Burn, Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa plays for a team that can match Manchester City’s overall threat. In five encounters, Haaland has scored one goal and provided one assist, but won only once. Villa won three and drew one, making Konsa one of the more successful defenders against the Manchester City striker. Haaland’s solitary goal against Konsa came in a 1-1 draw in 2022. Konsa’s pace, anticipation, and one-on-one defending limited Haaland’s space, especially when Villa maintained a compact shape. Data suggests Konsa is among the most effective defenders in curbing Haaland’s scoring rate.

Marc Guehi is now Haaland’s teammate at Manchester City, but in six previous meetings, Haaland scored seven goals—an average of more than one per game. However, Crystal Palace still won two and drew one, while Manchester City won three. Haaland netted a hat-trick against Guehi in 2022, scored a penalty in 2023, found the net when Manchester City were down to ten men in 2024, and struck twice in a crucial title-race win over Palace in 2025. These records show Haaland consistently finds ways past Guehi’s defense, making this one of his most prolific matchups against English defenders.

John Stones has the shortest direct history with Haaland. Before becoming Manchester City teammates, they faced each other only twice—Haaland lost both while at Dortmund, providing one assist but failing to score. Since then, they train daily, giving Stones deeper insight into Haaland’s movement and instincts, while Haaland understands Stones’ ball-playing and positioning. Although their direct clash record is limited, years as teammates make this duel one of the most information-rich individual battles.

Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford has faced Haaland six times in Everton vs. Manchester City matches, conceding seven goals. Most came in the Premier League, with Haaland repeatedly finding ways past the England international. In 2024, Pickford used gamesmanship to save a Haaland penalty. In their latest meeting, Everton and Manchester City drew 3-3, with Haaland scoring late to keep Arsenal fans anxiously awaiting the final result.