“I was thinking of her" - Haaland mistakes Monroe for Sydney Sweeney

The superstar Norwegian may be on the pitch for Norway in the 2026 World Cup, but his mind was clearly occupied by Sydney Sweeney during a funny appearance with KSI on YouTube.

The striker featured in KSI’s latest lookalike challenge video, which was published on 20 June, the day he netted a brace against Iraq, as the duo rated impersonators. But when a lookalike of Marilyn Monroe stepped out dressed in a white gown and blonde wig, Erling Haaland only had one Hollywood bombshell in mind. “I thought it was Sweeney for a minute,” Haaland admitted to the British YouTuber, who then established that he did mean The Housemaid and Euphoria actress.

The viral video of him and KSI in the chat with lookalikes of Harry Kane, Pep Guardiola, and Jurgen Klopp was widely circulated. “Hilarious how Haaland mistook the Marilyn Monroe impersonator for Sydney Sweeney. Clearly the Hollywood star is on his mind even at the World Cup,” said one Twitter user.

Monroe’s iconic white dress, blond wig and sultry persona left Erling Haaland in a moment of confusion. Social media clips of his confusion showed a number of laughing emojis attached, with fans quipping that even the pressure of football’s greatest competition couldn’t keep Sweeney out of the Manchester City star’s mind.

Norway marked its return to the World Cup for the first time since 1998 after they beat Iraq 4-1 on Monday (19 June), when Haaland put on a two-goal masterclass. They then secured a draw with Senega (22 June)l to progress through to the knockout stage.

The City forward has been dating partner Isabel Haugseng Johansen since 2021, with the couple welcoming son in December 2024. She has been supporting her boyfriend throughout Norway’s campaign.

The KSI videos typically make the rounds on YouTube with large viewing numbers and when Haaland made a seemingly offhand remark during a conversation about movies and celebrities, even he likely didn’t realise how much of a global following The Handmaid actress has recently achieved. “I can’t stop watching” The New York Post said.

“However, the fact that he mixed American actress A-list star Sydney Sweeney with Marilyn Monroe is just comedy.” Sweeney has received an overwhelming amount of buzz in recent months following her successful performance in Netflix thriller “The Housemaid” which has broken streaming and box-office records and become a worldwide phenomenon and can currently be seen dominating Netflix globally with the movie #3 spot currently held globally on Prime Video by The Housemaid.