England's Ezri Konsa on 'test' Norway's Erling Haaland represents in World Cup quarterfinal
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Ezri Konsa is confident he has what it takes to handle Erling Haaland. With Marc Guehi managing hamstring tightness, Konsa — the only defender to start every one of England's FIFA World Cup games this summer — will be charged with keeping Norway's prolific striker at bay.
The task holds little concern for Konsa, however, given that Haaland has drawn a blank in each of his last four appearances against Aston Villa for Manchester City.
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England's 28-year-old UEFA Europa League-winning center-back has come out on the winning side in three of those encounters and told BBC Sport ahead of their quarterfinal in Miami, via The Mirror: "Look, it is going to be a test, I think every game is a test.
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"We all know Haaland's qualities and what he can do in front of goal, but I have full belief, full confidence in the defence. As long as we stay 100 percent focused, I'm sure we'll be all right."
When pressed on Villa's remarkable recent record against Ståle Solbakken's formidable City striker, Konsa simply responded: "No secret."
"I really do believe in myself, in my abilities, and what I can do as a defender. I think as long as we as defenders believe that we can go into that game thinking we won't give him a yard or go into that pitch knowing that you're going to stop him from scoring, I think as defenders that's the only way to go about it in games, not just this game but in every game that you play.
"It is going to be a test, I think every game is a test. We all know Haaland's qualities and what he can do in front of goal, but I have full belief, full confidence in the defence. As long as we stay 100 percent focused, I'm sure we'll be all right."
Konsa was asked whether he'd be seeking advice from any of Haaland's former or current domestic teammates, Jude Bellingham, Guehi, John Stones or Nico O'Reilly, ahead of the quarterfinal clash at Hard Rock Stadium.
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He replied: "No, I haven't, not at all. I think I've come up against Haaland quite a few times in my career, so I know what he's about, I know what I'm about, so full focus on me and what I can do in the game."
England recognize the danger of fixating on a single player — even with Haaland having already netted seven goals at this World Cup.
Konsa believes Norway carry enough attacking threat to punish the Three Lions should Thomas Tuchel's defensive line lose concentration.
He continued: "The left winger, I think it's [Antonio] Nusa, he seems pretty good.
"They've also got [Martin] Ødegaard, who I'm quite familiar with, and they've got that tall right-winger, [Alexander] Sørloth, and Sander Berge of Fulham.
-Credit:Richard Sellers/Allstar, Getty Images"We know they've got a lot of quality as well, so we know we're going to have to be on our A game to overcome them."
Konsa is also eager to highlight that Norway have their own concerns: England's talisman Harry Kane, who has delivered a remarkable 73 goals for club and country this season.
The versatile defender said: "Harry's a great human being, great person, easy to talk to. Being able to share a pitch with him is an absolute honor.
"You know, you hear a lot of things about Harry Kane, and you see things, you play against him, but when you actually train with him, and you see the hard work that he puts in, the extra hours he puts in to master his craft, it's second to none.
"So yeah, it's no surprise to me that he's managed to score over 70 goals [73] this season, and may that continue, especially for us."