Erling Haaland's Legendary Memes and Global Viral Impact at the 2026 World Cup

Throughout the 2026 World Cup, Norwegian star striker Erling Haaland became one of the most talked-about athletes in the world, not only for his incredible goal-scoring performance on the pitch but also for viral trends on social media. Fans began comparing Haaland to Majin Buu, a villain from the popular anime series Dragon Ball Z, by examining his impressive physique, round facial features, and characteristic blonde braided hair. This resemblance spread rapidly across the internet, and after the famous 'Hidden NY' account compiled the best memes placing the two side-by-side, it went completely viral. Unexpectedly, Haaland's personal comment on the post, "I can't say I disagree with this," amplified the situation even further. The footballer's sense of humor proved just how closely connected he is to internet culture and how cool of a person he is.

Haaland's comment received over 119 thousand likes and garnered approximately 873 thousand responses in a very short time. This proved to the entire world what the footballer's over 60,6 million Instagram followers already knew: Haaland is someone who closely follows internet conversations. In fact, this funny resemblance to Majin Buu first came to light in Ocak 2021, when an X user created an illustration during the player's time at Borussia Dortmund. However, over the years, the meme resurfaced every time Haaland scored a hat-trick or performed a notable celebration. Finally, the grand stage of the 2026 World Cup took the scale of this joke to a completely different level, turning it into a global internet phenomenon.

During the World Cup, this viral wave was not limited to just a single joke; the event flooded TikTok, X, and Instagram with AI-generated images, short videos, and comparative photos. In fact, a funny edit showing the footballer being scared of his own reflection in a mirror while eating at a restaurant reached millions of views. Another major viral moment occurred before the last 16 round match between Brezilya and Norvega. Internet users swapped the faces of the actors in a famous scene from the 2004 movie 'White Chicks' with Vinicius Jr. and Haaland.

The aforementioned 'White Chicks' edit received massive engagement with 4,5 million views. The most entertaining part of it was Haaland messaging the Brezilyalı star on social media, saying, "Hahahahahahaahaha @vinijr we need to recreate this." Vinicius Jr. responding to this message with a laughing emoji resulted in one of the most talked-about and entertaining dialogues of the tournament. Furthermore, such jokes were not limited to just these two stars; for example, Kylian Mbappé was frequently compared to the character Donatello from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Vozinha, the goalkeeper for Yeşil Burun Adaları, gained popularity through his successful performance in the tournament, reaching over 28 million followers on Instagram.

Behind all this internet fame, it is obvious that Haaland's athletic performance on the pitch played a massive role. While leading to the quarter-finals in the 2026 World Cup, the Norwegian goal machine achieved a tremendous statistic by scoring exactly 7 goals in just 416 minutes. This goal tally was exactly the same as that of Arjantinli legend Lionel Messi, who found the same number in 434 minutes. Additionally, Haaland became one of the most prominent players of the tournament, with only one assist less than Kylian Mbappé, who led the competition with 7 goals and 2 assists in 482 minutes. His extraordinary athletic performance and the self-confidence to make fun of himself on social media made Haaland the undisputed most beloved character of the tournament.