An influencer who went viral for her resemblance to Erling Haaland has admitted the whole situation is “so surreal”.
As the 2026 FIFA World Cup has been rolling on, social media star Emma Kate Willman has noticed her comment section start to be dominated by people claiming she looks just like the Norwegian soccer star.
Some have joked the 24-year-old influencer could be Haaland’s “long-lost sister”, and others have replied as if she really is the 25-year-old Manchester City striker.
One person told her “good performance tonight mate”, as another added on Instagram, “Your casual run up to the shot for the 2nd goal was insane, good luck against England!”
© IG: Emma Kate WillmanGoing viral has felt “unreal”
Speaking to PEOPLE magazine, Emma – who has made her name off her own braid and ponytail stylings – admitted she couldn’t have predicted the way the last few weeks have gone.
She said, “I never expected braiding my hair to turn into millions of people comparing me to Erling Haaland.
“It’s been amazing to watch the internet have so much fun with it, and seeing Erling comment on my video made the whole thing feel even more unreal.”
Even Erling has had some fun
Haaland himself has seen the comparisons, which largely come down to their hairstyles, and he couldn’t resist leaving a “hi” and thumbs up emoji on one of her videos.
Over two million people ‘liked’ his comment, which came under a French braid tutorial she shared to her 146,000 followers on Instagram. On TikTok, she has another 414,000.
© Eurasia Sport ImagesWillman added, “As a creator, you never know what’s going to resonate, so I’m just grateful people have embraced it and had fun along the way.”
Did she meet Haaland at the World Cup?
The internet was hoping for another viral moment when Haaland and his Norway teammates took on England in the quarter finals. Because Willman was going to be in the stadium for the game in Miami, and fans were manifesting that she managed to get close to her “twin”. She said, “It would be pretty funny if our paths crossed in real life after all this.”
Unfortunately, that did not happen.
© Nicolò CampoHaaland is currently third in the World Cup top scorers rankings with seven, just behind France star Kylian Mbappe and Argentina legend Lionel Messi, who both have eight.
Trailing just behind with six goals is England captain Harry Kane, while Mbappe’s countryman Ousmane Dembele hasjust one fewer to round off the top five.
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