New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) Former Italy striker Christian Vieri has warned England about the formidable threat posed by Erling Haaland ahead of their FIFA World Cup 2026 quarterfinal clash against Norway, describing the prolific forward as ‘unstoppable’ and ‘unbeatable in the box’.

Norway are set to play in a FIFA World Cup quarterfinal for the first time, with Haaland at the heart of their historic campaign. The striker has scored 62 goals in 54 international appearances and also surpassed a World Cup record previously held by Vieri by becoming the first European player to score in each of his first five appearances at the global showpiece.

“For me, he’s unstoppable. He’s just too big, too strong, and when he has space, he’s quick, and he’s hungry, and that’s the most important thing. If Norway start getting the crosses in, the sooner they start crossing, it’s going to be very hard for England because, for me, when they start crossing, he’s unbeatable in the box,” Vieri said in a FIFA podcast.

Vieri, who scored five goals for Italy at the 1998 World Cup and four more at the 2002 edition, was full of admiration for the Norwegian striker who has displaced him from the record books.

“He’s amazing. I haven’t seen a striker like this in a long time. He’s so big, huge, and he plays very, very simple. He’s got an amazing shot and a lot of strength, so, as you can see, he’s a phenomenal striker. He scores one or two goals every game wherever he plays.”

Haaland has spearheaded Norway to their best-ever World Cup campaign, with their memorable 2-1 victory over Brazil among the standout moments of the tournament. Vieri said he wasn’t shocked at all by Norway’s triumph over the five-time champions.

The former Italy international, however, admitted he was surprised by Argentina’s thrilling Round-of-16 encounter against Egypt and praised the defending champions for retaining their hunger and fighting spirit.

“No, I didn’t see that coming,” Vieri said. “You think at some point the hunger will be gone a little bit, that the stomach will be full. But it’s not.

“The grit that Argentina shows, the desire to win, there’s also the capability to suffer through difficult moments against a fantastic Egyptian team. It is unbelievable. And then, obviously, at what Messi is doing, we’re all shaking our heads. It’s not human in a certain way.”

Norway and England have never met at the World Cup before, but have faced each other 12 times previously, including during qualifying for the 1982 and 1994 tournaments. The two nations’ most recent encounter came in a 2014 international friendly, which England won 1-0 at Wembley courtesy of Wayne Rooney’s penalty. The winners of the Norway-England quarter-final will face Argentina or Switzerland in the semi-final.

–IANS

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