Canada PM jokes about borrowing Haaland for World Cup

Canada’s prime minister joked that Norway should lend Erling Haaland to his country for the next World Cup during a meeting on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Turkey.

Mark Carney made the remark as he met Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre and German chancellor Friedrich Merz in Ankara on Tuesday, according to Reuters. Talking about close co-operation between Canada and Norway, Carney added that it should extend beyond equipment and into “talent”, then asked whether Haaland could be loaned to Canada for the tournament.

Støre laughed, answered with the Viking rowing gesture associated with Norway’s national team and said: “He’s not for sale.”

The exchange came after a World Cup campaign that saw Norway produce one of the tournament’s shocks by knocking out Brazil in the last 16 and reaching the quarter-finals, where they will face England. Canada, one of the three hosts, exited last week after a 3-0 defeat to Morocco in the last 16.