Erling Haaland and Harry Kane are set to face off in the quarter-final of the World Cup this weekend.
Both players have been pivotal for their nations so far this tournament. Haaland has scored seven times for Norway, and Kane six times for England.
The English defenders know Haaland well from their battles in the Premier League. The Norwegian defenders will be getting ready to face Kane who is currently on 72 goals for club and country this season.
But who will come out on top?
We used our Comparison Matrix to assess who has had the better tournament so far between the two centre-forwards.
Erling Haaland vs Harry Kane:
Finishing and box-work
The obvious skillset strikers are judged by is their ability to score goals.
This includes their preparation/movement, shot volume, conversation rate, aerial ability and touches inside the opposition box.
Kane has averaged 3.1 shots per 90 minutes at the World Cup so far this summer, excluding blocks. Of those, 2.1 per 90 have hit the target. And a further 0.9 of his shots have been blocked. The England striker has a decent shooting accuracy of 66.67%, and his 31.58% conversion rate is also top-quality. His goals have come at an average of 1.3 per 90. All six of Kane’s goals have come from inside the area, averaging 6.1 touches in the opposition box per 90. But the England captain has only won 1.3 aerial duels per 90, despite contesting 3.3 per 90.
Haaland excels in every metric when it comes to finishing and box-work. He averages 3.8 shots per 90 excluding blocks, with 3.0 on target. As well as his low average of 0.8 shots of target per 90, Haaland has also seen 0.8 shots blocked. The Norwegian has a shooting accuracy of 80%, while converting his shots into goals at a 38.89% rate. Haaland’s seven goals have come from just four games, missing the final group stage match through rotation. His 1.8 goals per 90 have included 1.0 winning goals, proving just how important he is to Norway’s success. When it comes to box presence, there is no one better in world football than Haaland. He has averaged 6.3 touches in the opposition box per 90, winning 77.78% of his 4.5 aerial duels per 90.
Link up play
Strikers will always be judged on their ability to score goals. But their ability to bring others into play is also important.
While Haaland excels in the finishing metrics, Kane is at his best linking up play. The Englishman has averaged 1.7 completed lay-offs per 90, getting more involved in general play and looking to get others involved. Kane averages 25.6 touches per 90 and has completed 3.5 passes inside his own half. While that’s not a high number, it shows that Kane looks to help relieve pressure. He has also averaged 3.9 backwards passes and 7.2 sideways passes per 90. These metrics don’t help to judge the effectiveness of Kane’s link play, it shows he is involved as an option for teammates to bounce play off of him, creating space for themselves.
Haaland, on the other hand, is often criticised for his lack of touches in games. He’s averaged 24.8 touches per 90 for Norway at this summer’s World Cup. While this isn’t far from Kane, the Norwegian only averages 0.5 completed lay-offs per 90. He has also made 3.0 backward passes and 6.0 sideways passes per 90. Haaland is less involved in his own half too, with just 2.3 passes per 90, as well as winning fewer fouls at 0.8 per 90.
Creativity
Both Haaland and Kane excel in different areas when it comes to strikers. But what about when it comes to creativity?
Once again, this is much more Kane’s forte. The 32-year-old has evolved his game, looking to drop in and create for others. Kane has averaged 10.2 open play passes completed per 90, completing 0.7 through balls per 90 and making 3.5 forward passes per 90. He has provided one assist so far at the World Cup, setting up Jude Bellingham against Mexico. Kane completes 0.7 long passes per 90, making 7.0 passes in the opposition half per 90 and completing 71.83% of his passes per 90.
While Haaland isn’t known for this side of his game, he does surprisingly rank above Kane in one metric in the creation category, perhaps the biggest one. The 25-year-old has averaged 1.5 chances created per 90 so far this tournament, compared to Kane who is only averaging 0.9 chances created per 90. Haaland is yet to provide an assist, hasn’t attempted a single long pass or through ball for the entire tournament and only makes 7.3 open play passes per 90. He is less involved in comparison to Kane, but effective when he is involved.
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