Erling Haaland Has Became America’s Most Popular Celebrity

Erling Haaland has spent this World Cup doing two things at once: scoring at a historic rate, and quietly becoming one of the most talked-about figures in American pop culture, a country that didn’t know his name a month ago.

The on-field case is straightforward. Haaland has scored seven goals through Norway’s first five matches, one behind tournament leader Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot.

His brace against Brazil in the Round of 16 eliminated the five-time champions and sent Norway into their first World Cup quarterfinal in the country’s history, where they’ll face England on July 11 in Miami.

That result alone would explain a spike in American attention. What’s kept it building is everything happening around the games.

The clearest example is the Viking Row, the synchronized celebration in which Norwegian fans sit and mimic rowing to a drumbeat while chanting “Ro.”

It began spontaneously among supporters early in the tournament, and Norway’s players adopted it as their own after beating Brazil, when captain Martin Ødegaard handed his usual drumming duties to Haaland so the striker could lead the celebration himself.

The moment has since spread well past the stadiums, performed on escalators, subway platforms, at a Mets game, even inside the Norwegian Parliament.

When Norway’s team plane landed in Dallas, local police staged their own version of it on the tarmac.

Attendance numbers tell a similar story. When Norway trained at the University of North Carolina Greensboro earlier in the tournament, roughly 3,500 fans showed up to watch a practice session.

Organizers said they’d fielded requests for as many as 20,000 seats, remarkable turnout for an open training, let alone one involving a player who wasn’t a household name in the U.S. before June.

Late-night television has taken notice too. Major networks have reportedly pursued Haaland for appearances on both The Tonight Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live, the kind of booking usually reserved for A-list film and music stars.

Norway’s tournament schedule has kept it from happening so far, Haaland is said to have turned down an invitation this week specifically to stay focused on the England match, but the interest itself signals how far his profile has traveled beyond soccer coverage.

Part of what’s resonating is the contrast between his intensity on the field and his looseness off it. He’s been documenting the tournament through a running YouTube series, joking around with teammates, and leaning into internet humor rather than avoiding it.

A Nike ad built around that persona featured actor Channing Tatum playing a Haaland lookalike; weeks later, Tatum showed up in the stands at a Norway match in a matching wig, and the appearance went viral on its own.

Sports Illustrated has described Haaland’s off-field presence as endearingly unpolished, a characterization echoed across several other outlets covering the run.

Norway has leaned into a Viking identity to match the moment. The squad posed for a pre-tournament promotional photo by photographer David Yarrow, titled “The Vikings Are Coming,” and Haaland himself was seen wearing a Viking helmet after Norway’s win over Ivory Coast, imagery that fits neatly with the team’s first World Cup appearance in 28 years.

None of this changes what’s still ahead. Haaland and Norway face England on Saturday with a semifinal spot on the line, a match that will bring the Viking Row into Messi’s adopted home turf of South Florida.

Whether Norway advances will likely determine how far this wave of American attention carries. For now, though, it’s not speculation, it’s a documented shift, built on real turnout, verified network interest, and a player whose appeal has clearly outgrown the scoreline.

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