Norway’s fairytale run demanded one more moment of magic from their talisman, but instead, they watched him walk to the sideline. As the Vikings clung to hope in extra time against England, the decision to substitute Erling Haaland was a questionable move. Now, former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III has weighed in, and he made zero attempt to soften the blow.

“Taking Haaland off the pitch in extra time when you are fighting for your World Cup life is certainly a choice. AN ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE DECISION,” Robert Griffin III posted on X.

Regulation time ended 1-1, with Andreas Schjelderup scoring for Norway and Jude Bellingham answering for England in the first half. Norway thought they’d taken the lead later on, but VAR chalked it off after spotting a foul by Haaland. With his team fighting for its life in extra time against England, Erling Haaland got subbed off at the break and was replaced by  Jorgen Strand Larsen at 105 minutes; the timing alone made many do a double take.

When the statistics are looked at, everything starts to make sense.

Haaland headed into the match having netted seven goals, putting him only one behind Messi and Mbappé in the hunt for the Golden Boot. The 25-year-old has found the back of the net 62 times in 54 matches for Norway since 2020, which is honestly crazy given that Messi needed 122 matches to reach 60. Mbappé needed 100 games for the same. So this wasn’t some coach quietly benching a role player. But then, watch the replay, and the picture gets clearer.

Even without a clear injury, Haaland had clearly been moving gingerly through the added 30 minutes of extra time. Trainers were working on his thighs right there on the sideline, and by that point, he’d been running for over 105 minutes straight. Two shots, one on target, eight assists, and 21 touches all game.

For a player who normally does so much with so little, that’s a rough day, and honestly, it showed.

Zlatan Ibrahimović said as much on the Fox broadcast, admitting Haaland looked “slow on his feet” and that taking him off was actually the smart move. Without his contributions, Norway couldn’t manage an equalizer, and their historic World Cup quarterfinal run came to an abrupt end with a 1-2 loss. Even still, there is no doubt that this World Cup has been Haaland’s coming-out party. And maybe Gary Neville put it best.

“He’s a phenomenon,” Gary Neville said after the game. “He’s unbelievable [like] the Brazilian Ronaldo, with the power he used to have when he ran, the explosion off the mark. [Zidane] Zidane, the Brazilian Ronaldo, the Portuguese Ronaldo, he’s right up there. He’s sensational. He’s almost like four players in one.”

Big words, sure, but after watching him all summer, it’s tough to disagree. Norway’s run may be over, but Haaland’s World Cup legacy is just getting started.