Day 4 of the KickGuessr 100 Days Challenge. The answer was Erling Haaland.
Clue 1 was the trick. Born in Leeds, England — but plays for Norway. Many people assumed the answer was an English player and got confused by Clue 3. That is exactly what we wanted.
Here is the full breakdown.
Clue 1: Born in Leeds, England — But Plays for Norway
Erling Haaland was born on July 21, 2000, in Leeds, England. His father, Alfie Haaland, was playing for Manchester City at the time. When Alfie’s career ended, the family returned to Norway, where Erling grew up and began his football career.
Erling qualifies to play for Norway because that is where he grew up and holds nationality. Despite being born in England, he has never expressed any interest in playing for the English national team. He is thoroughly Norwegian.
Clue 2: Broke the Premier League Scoring Record
In his first season at Manchester City in 2022-23, Erling Haaland scored 36 Premier League goals — breaking the previous record of 34 set by Andrew Cole in 1994 and equalled by Alan Shearer in 1995. He did this in 35 appearances.
To put that in perspective, some strikers go their entire careers without reaching 36 Premier League goals in total. Haaland scored them in a single season.
Clue 3: Wears Number 9 for Manchester City
Haaland joined Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2022. He wore the number 9 shirt, which had previously been held by Gabriel Jesus. His arrival transformed City’s attacking play — they had previously operated without a traditional centre-forward under Pep Guardiola.
The transition was seamless. City won the treble in Haaland’s first season, with Haaland as the central figure in their attack.
The Making of a Goalscoring Machine
Erling Haaland’s path to the top was not an overnight story. He played for Bryne FK and Molde in Norway before joining Red Bull Salzburg in Austria. At Salzburg he scored 29 goals in 27 games. Borussia Dortmund signed him in January 2020.
At Dortmund, he scored 86 goals in 89 appearances — a record that made every top European club desperate to sign him. City won the race.
What makes Haaland unique is his combination of size, speed, and finishing instinct. He stands 194 centimetres tall but moves like a much smaller player. His positioning inside the penalty area is almost mechanical — he finds space that should not exist and converts chances that other strikers miss.
His father Alfie played for Manchester City, Nottingham Forest, and Norway. The Haaland family is genuinely a football family.
The Leeds Connection
There is a strange piece of history connecting Haaland and Leeds. His father Alfie was seriously injured in a tackle by Roy Keane in a Manchester City versus Manchester United match in 2001. Keane later wrote in his autobiography that the challenge was deliberate — revenge for a previous challenge by Alfie on Keane.
Erling Haaland has never commented significantly on this story. He was just one year old when it happened. But football fans on both sides of Manchester have not forgotten it.
Day 5 Preview
Day 5 brings the Egyptian King. If you follow the Premier League at all, you will know this one immediately. Clue 1 gives it away. Follow KickGuessr on TikTok at @kickguessrhq for the clues tonight.