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Erling Haaland has done something no player has managed since 1954: score in each of his first three World Cup appearances. Through Norway’s group stage run at the 2026 tournament, co-hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States, Haaland has been essentially unguardable.
Five goals in three matches. Two against Iraq in a 4-1 win, two more against Senegal in a 3-2 thriller, and one in a 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast. Norway are through to the knockout stage, and Haaland is one goal behind the Golden Boot leader, Lionel Messi.
What he has actually done
The scoring streak ties the record for the most goals by a Norwegian player in a single World Cup tournament, a mark that had stood since 1998. Haaland matched it in three games.
This is also his debut at a major international tournament. For context, Haaland came into 2026 with 60 international goals across 53 caps for Norway. Norway’s next match is against Brazil.
The crypto angle
The $HAALAND meme token, which runs on the Solana blockchain, has attracted renewed interest as his goal tally climbed through the group stage.
The NFT market has also noticed. A Sorare Haaland NFT sold for 265.1 ETH, which at the time of sale was worth over $600,000. Sorare is a fantasy football platform that issues digital player cards as NFTs on the blockchain.
Meme tokens have no underlying utility by design. Their value is almost entirely social and cultural, which makes them extremely sensitive to the real-world status of whoever they are named after.
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