Erling Haaland on Abu Dhabi, the World Cup and his hopes for Manchester City

Star striker enjoying his warm-weather camp in the UAE

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  1) Erling Haaland opened his Manchester City goals account with a penalty in the 2-0 win against West Ham United at London Stadium on August 7, 2022. Getty

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  2) Haaland celebrates after also scoring the second goal against West Ham. Reuters

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  3) Haaland was on target again in the thrilling 3-3 draw against Newcastle United St James' Park on August 21, 2022. Getty

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  4) City fell two behind at home to Crystal Palace on August 27, but a shock was averted. Haaland celebrates after scoring their second goal in a 4-2 win. EPA

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  5) ...and the Norwegian soon added their third against Palace. AP

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  6) ... and their fourth for his first City hat-trick. PA

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  7) Haaland clearly enjoyed scoring a treble, so he helped himself to another in the 6-0 destruction of Nottingham Forest at Etihad Stadium on August 31, 2022. This was the first. Getty

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  8) Haaland celebrates after scoring his second goal against Forest. EPA

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  9) Haaland completes his hat-trick against Forest. AFP

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  10) Doubles figures for Haaland on September 3 as he scores in the 1-1 draw at Aston Villa. Action Images

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  11) Haaland opens his City Champions League account with the opening goal in the 4-0 victory at Sevilla on September 6. EPA

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  12) Haaland celebrates with teammates after scoring his second and City's third against Sevilla. Getty

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  13) Erling Haaland scores a spectacular winner in the 2-1 Champions League victory against former club Borussia Dortmund at the Etihad stadium on September 14, 2022. AP

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  14) Haaland on the mark again, this time in the 3-0 win at Wolves on September 17. PA

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  15) A first Manchester derby for Erling Haaland, and he scores the second goal in City's 6-3 Premier League win against United on October 2, 2022. Getty

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  16) No stopping the Norwegian in the derby as he scores again against United. PA

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  17) Haaland scores City's fifth goal against United and completes his hat-trick. Reuters

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  18) Erling Haaland celebrates scoring the opening goal in the Champions League win against FC Copenhagen on October 5, 2022. PA

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  19) Erling Haaland scores his second goal against FC Copenhagen - and was taken off at half-time to spare them more punishment. AP

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  20) Erling Haaland scored his 20th of the season in the 4-0 rout against Southampton on October 8. EPA

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  21) Haaland celebrates after scoring City's opening goal in the 3-1 Premier League win against Brighton at Etihad Stadium on October 22, 2022. PA

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  22) Haaland adds his 22nd goal for City from the penalty spot against Brighton. Getty

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  23) Erling Haaland is congratulated by his teammates after scoring the late winner in the 2-1 victory against Fulham at Etihad Stadium on November 5, 2022. AP

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  24) Haaland celebrates scoring the opening goal in the 3-2 League Cup fourth round win against at Liverpool at Etihad Stadium on December 22, 2022. Getty

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  25) A quarter of a century as Haaland celebrates scoring City's second goal in the 3-1 Premier League win against Leeds at Elland Road on December 28, 2022. PA

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  26) And another against Leeds on the same night. PA

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  27) Rounding off the year with another goal, but a surprise draw, Haaland scored in the 1-1 Premier League game against Everton at the Etihad Stadium on December 31, 2022. AFP

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  28) Haaland heads City's second in the 4-2 Premier League win against Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium on January 19, 2023. PA

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  29) Haaland after scoring the first in the 3-0 Premier League win against Wolves at Etihad Stadium on January 22, 2023. Getty

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  30) Yes, 30 for the season in January, as he nets again against Wolves. PA

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  31) Wolves suffer even more as Haaland completes his hat-trick. AFP

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  32) A crucial game in the title race and Haaland scores City's third in the 3-1 win against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on February 15, 2023. Getty

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  33) Bournemouth goalkeeper Neto fails to stop Haaland from scoring City's second goal in their 4-1 Premier League win at the Vitality Stadium on February 25, 2023. PA

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  34) City players celebrate after Haaland scores the only goal in the Premier League win against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on March 11, 2023. Getty

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  35) The start of an incredible night - even by Haaland's astonishing standards - as he scores the first goal in the 7-0 Champions League destruction of RB Leipzig at the Etihad Stadium on March 14, 2023. AFP

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  36) ... No 2 on the night soon followed. Action Images

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  37) Haaland had a hat-trick before half-time. AFP

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  38) But three was not enough for Haaland as he celebrates his fourth against Leipzig. AP

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  39) Five on the night against RB Leipzig and up to 39 for the season - a City record - and it's only midway through March. AP

Manchester City are in Abu Dhabi for a warm-weather training camp ahead of the season starting again with a League Cup tie against Liverpool on December 22

Manager Pep Guardiola and his Premier League champions will then head back to Manchester to meet up with those players who have been involved at the World Cup.

Star striker Erling Haaland, whose national team Norway missed out on qualifying for Qatar, took time out to speak about the trip, the season so far and his hopes for the rest of the campaign.

On having a break in the season

It’s been a good opportunity to reset. Of course every player wants to be at the World Cup. It’s my dream to represent my country there and I’ll work hard to make sure that I do that one day. But the break has been positive. I’ve had the chance to rest, to take my mind off football for a few weeks and put myself in the best possible place to return. I can’t wait for it to start again. I’m raring to go.

On watching the World Cup

The World Cup is great to watch for any football fan. Of course I would prefer to be there playing, but it’s the best teams and the best players competing against each other. There have been some fantastic performances and some that maybe people wouldn’t have expected. Now we’re into the most exciting part of the tournament when one little mistake and you could be out which makes it even more enjoyable to watch.

On Abu Dhabi

It’s a beautiful place. We’re lucky as professionals to go to many beautiful places and travel around the world. To come here before the start of the new season is a great opportunity just to recharge and focus our minds again on club football returning. We have all the facilities we need, the weather is a little warmer than it is in Manchester and we can prepare as a group. Okay not all of our teammates can be out here but for the ones that are it’s a good opportunity to come together in a more relaxed setting and make sure we’re ready for when the rest of the group comes back.

On his first season in England

It’s been positive. I feel like I’ve settled into the team and the league which can always take some adapting to and I’ve been pleased with how it’s started. But it’s not about me. It’s about the team, how we’re performing and the second half of the season is the most important now. We’ve put ourselves in a good position and we’ve had lot of strong performances, but we’re second in the league and that’s not where we want to finish. We have to hit the ground running when we return because we have some tough games across the different competitions and we want to win them all.

On the rest of the season

Our focus is always on the next game. I know it’s cliche and people might not like that, but if you get ahead of yourself then you lose focus. The challenge now is for us to get back up to speed and playing how we know we can. This training camp will be important for a number of us to do that and the rest of the guys will join us when their World Cup ends. The focus will be on getting fit, getting ready and then heading into the game against Liverpool looking to get a positive result and giving our fans something to be excited about as we head into the second half of the season.