Erling Haaland facing Rodri upset as Man City and Real Madrid watch on

Erling Haaland must have had better summers.

One of the best players in the world wants to play on the biggest stages, but the Norwegian also feels the burden of trying to get his country to their first major tournament since a few months before he was born. It hurt to have to sit out Qatar 18 months ago, and it hurt to have to sit out this summer in Germany - even if it did give his body some additional time to rest up.

Watching the Euros continued a story this year that has not cast Haaland as the central character. It was Phil Foden who was awarded the two main individual prizes in England this spring for leading Manchester City to the Premier League, and Rodri who took the acclaim with Spain this summer. As Haaland enters his third season at the Etihad, there is work to do to reposition himself at the top of the modern game with Kylian Mbappe attempting the same at new club Real Madrid.

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The rise of Foden and Rodri is a handy reminder for Haaland that achievements in modern football are forgotten very easily. Haaland could be forgiven for thinking a Ballon d'Or was inevitable given his breathtaking scoring rates, yet after somehow missing out last year to Lionel Messi on the back of Argentina winning the World Cup he may find himself trumped by Rodri following Spain's triumph.

Qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup start in September but before then Haaland has to get back to terrifying Premier League defences with City. Thirty-eight goals was another remarkable effort last season yet things were definitely more difficult for the big No.9 - not