Erling Haaland has improved his all-round game in recent years, and will only get better in the coming seasons.

That is the belief of Belgium icon Romelu Lukaku, who is excited to see how his fellow striker fares at his first World Cup with Norway.

Haaland won his third Premier League Golden Boot in 2025-26, netting 27 goals despite Manchester City missing out on the title in their final campaign under Pep Guardiola.

Only Thierry Henry and Mohamed Salah (four apiece) have ever won the award more often, and Haaland will now hope to carry that form into his first major international tournament.

Haaland fired Norway to the World Cup with 16 goals in eight qualifiers, double the amount of any other European player, while averaging 2.04 goals per 90 minutes.

Norway will face Iraq in their opening Group I game on June 16, with Senegal and France their next two opponents. 

And, speaking exclusively to Stats Perform, Lukaku forecasted a good showing from the City number nine. 

"I think he is hungry for goals, but I think he's a very smart player if you look at his movement in the box," the Belgian said of Haaland.

"I look at the details, his positioning, his movements to go to the near post, to go to the second post. 

"He's really very efficient with the balls that he gets into the box, and he has improved a lot on his back-to-goal play. So, credit to him because a lot of people were talking about that. 

"When you show that you can improve on those things... he's obviously a better player than he was a few years ago, when he was already great. He will only be better. 

"And I think now the World Cup is the biggest stage for him to show his qualities. As a competitor, you want to see how he does, so he can inspire you to improve your own level."

Haaland enjoyed one of his best creative campaigns in 2025-26, with only Rayan Cherki (12) bettering his eight Premier League assists for City.

His average of 0.24 assists per 90 minutes was his second-best figure in any Premier League season (0.26 in 2022-23) and a significant increase on his 2024-25 figure of 0.1.

He also averaged 1.16 passes into the penalty area per 90, having never previously averaged more than 0.75 in a single campaign with City.

Should Norway and Belgium both finish as runners-up in their groups – the Red Devils will face Tunisia, Egypt and Iran – they could fall on the same side of the knockout bracket, while they could face off in the last 32 if one tops their pool and the other finishes third.