Erling Haaland picks sides in Harry Kane debate as Man City star shows true colours

View 2 Images

Manchester City star Erling Haaland has admitted he doesn't consider himself to be the best striker in the world this season. Despite breezing his way to a second Premier League Golden Boot award with 28 league goals, the towering Norwegian believes Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe rank above him when assessing the most lethal strikers in the game.

The 25-year-old was in devastating form on his World Cup debut, bagging two goals in Norway's 4-1 win over Iraq as Stale Solbakken's men survived a brief scare against their Asian opponents. They scored their first goal at the tournament since 1986 through Aymen Hussein's equaliser before Haaland, Leo Ostigard and Hussein's own goal put the icing on the cake for the Scandanavian nation.

That double further enhanced Haaland's incredible international record, which stands at 57 goals in 51 caps for his country. But when asked if he is the greatest in his position on the planet, Haaland humbly pointed out that his goal tally this season was trumped by both Kane and Mbappe.

"I would say I'm up there [with the best]. I don't think I scored the most goals this season," Haaland told reporters after the game. "So statistically, no I'm not because Harry Kane and Mbappe scored more goals than me and that's the reality."

Haaland and Norway will qualify from Group I for the knockout stages if they avoid defeat against Senegal on Tuesday, June 23. The African nation produced a spirited display in their opener against France but ultimately fell short in a 3-1 win, with the 2018 champions awaiting Norway in their final group game on Friday, June 26.

About his overall performance, Haaland added: "I think today you saw the same energy, I would say, to decide this. But when I think about how I played today, I played in the same way.

"It's all about continuing and not saying too much. It's difficult at this stage, focus on the next [game] and of course you're happy [with the victory], but stay calm."

View 2 Images

Haaland's double came on the same day that Mbappe cemented his status as France's all-time record goalscorer with his 57th and 58th goals for Les Bleus, albeit in 99 caps. With his brace, Mbappe surpassed Olivier Giroud as his nation's most potent goalscorer and the 27-year-old expressed his delight about reaching his target.

“I’m very happy to make more history for my country," he said. “It’s always something I’ve wanted to do. I’ve always placed that above everything else.

“I’ll have time to think about these kinds of things later when I’ve stopped playing. Right now, I know why I’m here. We will keep trying to write the grand page of the history of the French team.”

Mbappe was in red-hot form for Real Madrid last term, scoring 40 goals in 42 games across LaLiga and the Champions League . Kane, meanwhile, fired 36 Bundesliga goals for Bayern Munich and registered 68 goal contributions across all competitions.

Content cannot be displayed without consent

Kane will get the chance to add to his tally when England take on Croatia in Dallas tonight, with 79 goals in his 114 appearances for his country. With Haaland and Mbappe both scoring twice, the race for the Golden Boot is well and truly on.

The vast majority of bookmakers listed the trio as favourites to compete for the World Cup Golden Boot after enjoying fine goalscoring seasons for their respective clubs. However, Lionel Messi's hat-trick in Argentina's 3-0 win over Algeria sent the 39-year-old to the top of the standings for now.