Published on 6/17/2026
Norwegian striker Erling Haaland sparked widespread controversy because of the shirt he wore during his country’s match against Iraq in the World Cup finals.
Haaland contributed to the great victory achieved by the Norwegian national team over its Iraqi counterpart, 4-1, by scoring the first and second goals in the match that took place at Boston Stadium for the first round of the ninth group competitions of the World Cup in 2026.
Haaland (25 years old) caught attention after playing against Iraq in a shirt with the name of a second family written on the back.
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The mystery of Haaland’s shirt against Iraq
The player wore a shirt with the name “Braut Haaland” written on the back, a habit he started only in Norway’s matches without Manchester City since August of last year.
The British network “The Athletic” reported that this other name is his mother’s family name, and matches the name he uses on his social media accounts.
She explained that the name “Brut” goes back to his mother, Gree Marita Braut, a former sevens champion, while Haaland’s name goes back to his father, Alf-Ing, a former defender for Leeds United and Manchester City.
She indicated that Haaland wanted this step to honor both his parents’ family names, which is a common custom in Norway, and noted that it is not necessary for every player in the national team to adhere to this tradition.
The network commented on this gesture by saying, “Regardless of what is written on the back of his shirt, there is one thing that never changes for Haaland, which is his superior ability to score, as he clearly demonstrated in his recent performance against Iraq.”
Haaland (25 years old) entered the history of the World Cup from a wide angle, after engraving his name for the first time on the list of players who scored goals in the tournament.
This is Haaland’s first participation in the World Cup, noting that the Norwegian national team’s last participation in the World Cup dates back to the 1998 edition, that is, two years before the birth of Manchester City’s top scorer.
