No team has found an answer for Norway star striker Erling Haaland, who has scored seven goals in the World Cup and found the net in every match he’s played. Slowing him down will be the challenge facing Marc Guéhi and England’s defense when the teams meet in Saturday’s quarterfinal in Miami.
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Guéhi, however, is more familiar with Haaland than most defenders. The two are teammates at Manchester City, giving Guéhi firsthand knowledge of the striker’s tendencies and movement. Whether that familiarity can help England contain one of the tournament’s most dangerous scorers could go a long way toward deciding who advances.
Haaland’s seven goals are tied with France’s Kylian Mbappé for the tournament’s second-most, trailing only Argentina’s Lionel Messi with eight.
“It is going to be fun, and I know he (Erling Haaland) will be up for it,” Guéhi said on the “Lion’s Den” podcast. “It’s going to be a challenge. It will be good to see some familiar faces, and we are going to try and do our best and try to get the win.”
As if containing Haaland wasn’t enough, England also bears the weight of expectations from a fanbase desperate to see the country lift its first World Cup trophy since 1966. England won the tournament as the host that year, and it remains the last time the nation reached the final.
But England enters Saturday’s matchup riding high after a dramatic 3-2 victory over Mexico on Sunday and boasts a defense that, anchored by Guéhi, has recorded two clean sheets and has yet to allow more than two goals in a match. Sunday’s win came in a true road game at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, with rain delaying the start and playing a factor throughout.
When the final whistle blew, Guéhi dropped to his knees to pray and was greeted by teammate Jude Bellingham, who scored two first-half goals.
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Guéhi posted on Instagram after the win with the caption, “HAND OF GOD!!!” — a tongue-in-cheek reference to the 1986 World Cup quarterfinal, when Argentina’s Diego Maradona illegally touched a ball with his hand en route to a goal against England. England lost that game, which was also played at Estadio Azteca.
But Guéhi’s faith in God is genuine, and he regularly posts about it and often talks about it in interviews. The son of a minister, he was born in the Ivory Coast but grew up in southeast London playing drums at church on Sunday mornings. His faith has only grown deeper as he’s gotten older.
“I’ve grown up loving God and when I have had the chance I still go to church with my family, and my faith is definitely a big part of my life,” he told The Athletic in 2021. “Faith is everything that I’m involved with, really; even in football, where I’m trying to be a role model and show God’s graciousness and God’s glory through my life.”
He turned pro in 2019 when he signed with Chelsea of the English Premier League, but spent the majority of that time on loan with Swansea City of the English Football League Championship. He then joined Crystal Palace in 2021 on a five-year contract, and in 2022 he was called up to England’s senior squad for the first time and made his international debut in a friendly against Switzerland.
Guéhi wasn’t selected for England’s 2022 World Cup squad, but he was part of the 26-man team for UEFA Euro 2024 and played every minute as England topped Group C but eventually fell to Spain in the final — England’s second straight runner-up finish in the tournament.
In January 2026, he signed with Manchester City for roughly $22.9 million. He said the move was “God’s plan.”
“I’ve said this in previous interviews. It wasn’t really up to me. It was God’s plan, and I think God’s plan has been in full fruition,” he said.
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Guéhi scored his first England goal in a 5-0 win in a World Cup qualifying game against Serbia, and now he’s cemented himself as a key piece of England’s squad.
Guéhi’s willingness to speak openly about his faith hasn’t come without criticism, though. In 2024 while with Crystal Palace, he was asked to wear a rainbow-colored captain’s armband in support of the LGBTQ+ community. He obliged, but wrote “I love Jesus” and “Jesus loves you” on two separate occasions, which led to England’s Football Association reprimanding him for violating their policy on religious messages.
But he stood by his decision.
“I think the message was pretty clear, to be honest,” he told Sky Sports News. “It was a message of love, of truth as well, and a message of inclusivity. So I think it speaks for itself.”
Guéhi and England meet Norway at 5 p.m. ET Saturday in Miami.
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