Dubai schoolboy watches Haaland score at World Cup after viral post

Dubai: A Dubai schoolboy's dream became reality after a viral Instagram video caught the attention of his football idol, Erling Haaland.

Qasim Qadir, a player at Manchester City Football Schools in Dubai, made the 7,000-mile journey to Boston with his father, Shujah, to watch Haaland play in his first FIFA World Cup match for Norway against Iraq.

The adventure began when Qasim posted a video on Instagram telling Haaland that if he liked the post, his father would take him to the World Cup. To the family's amazement, the Manchester City and Norway striker did more than just like the video.

"See you there," Haaland replied in the comments.

For Shujah, seeing the Norwegian’s comment appear as a notification on his phone was a moment he will never forget, turning what began as a hopeful social media post into an unforgettable memory.

“The video itself went viral very quick, I remember saying to my wife this is absolutely insane,” said Shujah.

“It hit 200k views and that’s when the Haaland comment came through, at first, we thought it wasn’t him, but it turned out to be true, we just couldn’t believe it.”

Qasim, one of Haaland’s biggest fans, has also become well known within the Manchester City Football Schools community for sporting the same hairstyle as the Norwegian striker for the past three years.

Speaking to Gulf News, his father explained how Qasim’s admiration for Haaland began through watching his goals and performances for both club and country, with the youngster quickly becoming inspired by the football superstar on and off the pitch.

“Qasim, since he was around the age of two, we knew he loved to kick the ball,” explained Shujah.

“With Man City having a big presence in the region, we put him in their academy and from there he fell in love with it.

“Obviously the main man at City is Haaland, and Qasim just took an automatic liking to him, so he decided to grow his hair out to be just like his idol.”

The comment from Haaland set in motion a memorable trip to the United States as Qasim and his father travelled to Boston, where they watched Haaland score twice as Norway secured a convincing 4-1 victory over Iraq.

Reflecting on the experience, Shujah said: "It feels completely surreal. I couldn't quite believe my eyes when I saw Haaland's comment, I couldn't not fulfil my promise after he responded to us.

"Taking my boy to a World Cup game was a dream come true and I'm so happy I gave him an experience which I'm sure he'll remember forever."