There are rivalries, there are respectful nods across the halfway line, and then there is whatever it is that Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland have. As England and Norway prepare to face each other at the 2026 World Cup this Saturday evening, much of the conversation around the match has drifted away from formations and set-piece routines and landed, warmly, on two young men who appear to genuinely like each other.

It started at Borussia Dortmund, where Bellingham — still a teenager when he arrived in Germany — and Haaland were teammates before the Norwegian moved on to Manchester City. The clips from those days have been doing the rounds all week. There is one from September 2021, after a BVB win over Besiktas, where Haaland praises Bellingham as "amazing" and, right on cue, the Englishman wanders into shot and plants a jokey kiss on his cheek before disappearing. Another moment, which seems to keep resurfacing, shows Haaland rushing in to protect Bellingham after a push from an opposing player. It is the kind of instinctive loyalty that no PR team could have scripted.

And BVB themselves leaned into it, releasing a Valentine's Day video of the pair exchanging cheesy chat-up lines on YouTube. Haaland reading "I'd like to take you to the movies, but they don't let you bring in your own snacks" has aged rather well as the internet has rediscovered it.

Something Different on Social Media

The timing matters. Social media, and football social media in particular, can be an exhausting place — outrage, tribalism, every player cast as either hero or villain depending on which corner of the internet you have stumbled into. Against that backdrop, two of the most ruthlessly competitive strikers on the planet hugging it out and celebrating each other's success stands out like a lone away supporter in the home end.

Social media expert Mark Navarra put it well when speaking to the BBC: "What these clips do is re-humanise two people who are normally cast as multi-million pound assets or rivals or goal-scoring machines." There is something in that. Bellingham, 23, and Haaland, 25, are usually discussed in the language of metrics — xG, goal contributions, transfer valuations. Seeing them just being mates cuts through all of that.

PR expert Mark Borkowski noted to the BBC that this generation of footballers carries itself differently, and that their time playing club football across Europe has given both players a broader cultural awareness. "Jude Bellingham conducts himself like a man twice his age," he said. That observation will ring true to anyone who has watched Bellingham speak in front of a camera — composed, thoughtful, emotionally expressive in a way that feels entirely unforced.

Eccentric and Polished — A Brilliant Pairing

What makes the friendship so watchable, according to Navarra, is the contrast in their characters. Bellingham is articulate and polished; Haaland is deadpan, eccentric, naturally meme-able. A recent interview the Norwegian gave to NRK, in which he described a typical night in with his childhood sweetheart girlfriend — cooking dinner, playing Minecraft together, building houses, or heading back home to Bryne for a kebab — only added to the sense that these are two people entirely comfortable in their own skin.

The chemistry, Navarra argues, feels "earned rather than engineered," and that is the key distinction. This is not a brand partnership or a carefully managed social media moment. It is years of shared dressing rooms, shared experiences, and a friendship that has kept going long after they stopped playing together.

On Saturday night, they will do their level best to beat each other. Bellingham will want England through; Haaland will want exactly the same for Norway. The competitive fire is not in question. But when the final whistle goes, you suspect there will be a hug — and the internet will absolutely lose its mind over it.

FAQs

Frequently asked

How did Bellingham and Haaland become friends?
The pair became friends during their time together at Borussia Dortmund, where they were teammates. Their camaraderie was widely noted at the club and even featured in official BVB content.
Are Bellingham and Haaland playing against each other at the 2026 World Cup?
Yes — England and Norway are set to face each other at the 2026 World Cup, with Bellingham representing England and Haaland playing for Norway.
Why is the Bellingham and Haaland friendship so popular online?
Fans have responded warmly to old clips of the pair showing genuine affection and humour — a contrast to the outrage and tribalism that often dominates football on social media. Their friendship is seen as refreshingly authentic.