Influencer’s Instagram account blows up after Erling Haaland comments on her resemblance to the Norwegian striker
Emma Kate Willman gained thousands of followers after Haaland’s simple comment turned her viral doppelgänger moment into a global story.
U.S.-based influencer Emma Kate Willman has seen her social media following surge after fans repeatedly pointed out her resemblance to Norway striker Erling Haaland, and the moment truly took off when the player himself joined in.
From hair tutorials to viral fame
Willman, a Charleston-based content creator known for her hair tutorials, had already built a steady following on Instagram and TikTok. But as the World Cup got underway, her comment sections began to fill with a very specific comparison. Fans couldn’t stop pointing out how much she looked like Haaland.
The similarities - blonde hair, light eyebrows, and facial structure - became a recurring theme under nearly every post. At one point, Willman said she received tens of thousands of comments referencing the striker in just a matter of hours.
Initially, she leaned into the joke with some hesitation.
“The best doppelgänger you give me is a male soccer player? Really?” she joked in one video, adding that she was “just a girl from Charleston.”
The moment Haaland noticed
The viral moment escalated when Haaland himself came across one of her videos. His response was a brief and simple “Hi”, along with a thumbs-up emoji, but it was enough to send engagement into overdrive.
That single comment drew massive attention, racking up millions of likes and bringing a new wave of football fans to Willman’s profile. One of her posts quickly accumulated well over 100,000 comments, many playfully addressing her as if she were the Norway star.
For Willman, the interaction made the situation feel “even more unreal.”
Willman’s Instagram following has jumped dramatically during the tournament, with reports indicating tens of thousands of new followers in just a few days and growth exceeding 2,000% over a three-month span. What was once a niche audience built around hair content has expanded into a global fanbase driven by World Cup buzz. Brands and major accounts have also joined the conversation, further amplifying her reach.
Rather than push back on the comparison, Willman has now fully embraced it.She’s posted videos recreating Haaland’s signature looks, including his slicked-back ponytail and braided styles, and even joked about the possibility of meeting her “twin” in person.
She’s also taken things a step further by organizing a Haaland lookalike contest tied to Norway’s World Cup match, turning a viral joke into a real-world event.
Haaland has been one of the standout stars of the 2026 World Cup, and as his profile rises, so too has interest in anything connected to him, including an unlikely doppelgänger on social media.
“I never expected braiding my hair to turn into millions of people comparing me to Erling Haaland,” she said.
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