- The national anthem was performed just before Community Shield kicked off
- Norwegian Erling Haaland was spotted signing along and fans took a notice
- Get breaking Premier League news straight to your phone on Mail Sport’s new WhatsApp channel
Fans have been left puzzled after Erling Haaland was spotted singing the United Kingdom national anthem.
The Manchester City striker, after a long summer rest due to not participating in the Euro 2024 tournament, has been named in the Community Shield starting XI against bitter rivals Manchester United.
As tradition for all major domestic finals in England, the ‘God Save the King’ national anthem is performed just before kick-off.
And Haaland was spotted singing along to it despite being of Norwegian heritage, leaving viewers baffled.
One said: ‘Erling Haaland singing the national anthem was not what I expected to see when I turned the tv on’.
Erling Haaland was spotted singing the national anthem before the Community Shield match
Fans on social media took notice of the Norwegian striker singing along and were left baffled
Another wrote: ‘Love that Erling Haaland was singing the English national anthem. He was born here & lived here throughout his childhood I guess. I respect that.
A third fan simpleyd asked on X: ‘Why’s Haaland singing God Save the King?’.
‘Nah man why was Haaland singing the National Anthem he’s a robot 100%’, a fourth said.
Haaland singing the national anthem may make sense given the he was born in Leeds and was once eligible to play for England.
Speaking to GOAL in 2022, the 24-year-old explained why he opted to represent Norway instead of the Three Lions.
He said ‘I lived here [England] for three-and-a-half-to-four years and I lived in Norway for such a long time, so then it was natural for me to choose Norway.
‘You never know how it would be if maybe my father played longer in England or whatever. Maybe I would be English, I don’t know. But yeah, I’m Norwegian and I’m proud of it.’
