The Canadian Prime Minister requests that Haaland be loaned to his national team

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney injected humor into his meetings at the NATO summit in Turkey, jokingly asking his Norwegian counterpart, Jonas Gahr Støre, to "loan" Norwegian star Erling Haaland to represent Canada at the World Cup. The joke came during a meeting between Carney, Støre, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on the sidelines of the summit hosted by Ankara, following Canada's approval of a submarine deal with a German-Norwegian partnership. Speaking about cooperation between his country and Norway, Carney said, "Interoperability and joint operation aren't just about exchanging equipment; they're also about exchanging expertise. If you could lend us Erling Haaland for the next World Cup, we would be very grateful," prompting laughter from those present. The Norwegian Prime Minister quickly responded, performing the famous Viking rowing gesture, before saying with a smile, "He's not for sale," indicating Norway's determination to keep its star player. The joke comes amidst Norway's impressive run in the 2026 World Cup, where they pulled off a major upset by eliminating Brazil in the round of 16, setting up a quarter-final clash with England. Meanwhile, Canada, one of the tournament's hosts, exited in the knockout stages, but not before achieving their best-ever World Cup result: securing their first point and first-ever victory in the tournament, as well as their first ever knockout stage win.