Erling Haaland is a force of nature.
The striker’s brace – a towering header up against nemesis Gabriel and a laser-guided drive from distance – saw Norway secure a famous victory against Brazil and passage to the World Cup quarter-finals.
It is the first time Norway have made it this far. They face England, who beat Mexico in an Azteca battle for the ages last night, in the last eight.
Haaland, still just 25, is tied with Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe on seven goals in the Golden Boot race.
For FIFA, Haaland’s heroics are good for the brand. Gianni Infantino wants as many superstars as possible in the tournament’s closing act.
However, the short-term impact of Norway dumping out Brazil has had a detrimental impact on world soccer’s governing body’s top line.
World Cup quarter-final ticket prices nosedive after Haaland dumps out Brazil
Brazil are the World Cup team.
The five-time champions are near universally viewed as the tournament’s most glamorous, storied side. And that is reflected in ticket sales.
FIFA’s ticketing strategy for the 2026 World Cup will go down in infamy as the most nakedly commercial in the tournament’s history.
Aside from sky-high face value sales, FIFA have also launched their own resale platform, where professional scalpers are free to list tickets at whatever price they see fit. FIFA then take a 30 per cent cut.
At the biggest games, it does not take long for that 30 per cent commission to be worth millions of dollars.
When the market thought the most likely scenario for the quarter-final on Saturday 11th July was England vs Brazil, for instance, the ‘get-in’ price (the cheapest available ticket to buy) peaked at over $4,100.
But after Haaland sunk Brazil, the get-in price for the match at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami almost instantly shrunk by around $1,000.
For FIFA, if that ticket was sold through its exchange, that’s a $300 loss. Extrapolated over a few thousand tickets, that’s a seven-figure fall-off.
The quarter-final will still almost certainly be one of the highest-grossing matches in the history of soccer. FIFA will probably break that record several times between now and the final.
But Brazil’s exit at the hands of Haaland and his Norway teammates does illustrate how much the economics of this tournament are shaped by what happens on the pitch.
