England's Harry Kane backed to win World Cup striker battle vs Norway's Erling Haaland

England's Harry Kane backed to win World Cup striker battle vs Norway's Erling Haaland

The match will pit two of the tournament's most prolific strikers against each other, with Haaland leading the Golden Boot race on seven goals and Kane just one behind. Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe are also firmly in contention for the award.

Rogers had nothing but praise for Haaland, admitting the Norway captain has been almost impossible to stop during the tournament.

"Has anyone ever stopped Erling Haaland? I'm not sure they have, but we're going to try," Rogers said.

"He's such an unbelievable player. The things he does, the numbers he puts up, you're just in awe of how good he is and the level he's at."

Haaland heads into the quarter-final in outstanding form, having scored in each of his last 14 competitive matches for Norway, with 27 goals during that run. His goalscoring record means England's defence will face one of its toughest tests of the tournament.

Despite Haaland's remarkable form, Rogers believes England captain Kane is ready to prove why he remains one of the world's elite forwards.

"They're the two, for me, that are at the top of their game in this tournament and have been two of the best players," Rogers said.

"It's a spectacle for the fans and it's going to be a good one to see who comes out on top.

"I hope it's Harry, and I'm sure it will be. I think we've got that confidence in him. He's playing at probably the highest level that he's ever played at, which is madness to say because of what he's been doing for so many years."

Rogers also praised teammate Jude Bellingham, who has been one of England's standout performers during the World Cup. The Aston Villa forward believes the Real Madrid midfielder is still far from reaching his full potential.

"You forget how young he is, that's how good he's been, but I still think there's a long way to go and he'll probably say the same as well - the drive and the hunger he's got in the game for what he wants to achieve," Rogers said.

"He knows that he's got things to work on, things to improve on like we all do. I think that's what's so exciting about being an England fan, an England player and being his friend.

"I think it's just how far he can go. No one really knows and there's really no limit to what he can achieve."

Rogers came off the bench in England's dramatic last-16 victory over Mexico and admitted it is difficult not to think about lifting the World Cup trophy with only three matches remaining.

"We're all aligned, we're all on the same page of attacking each game in the best way possible," he said.

"I think it's difficult because we're all human and we're all excited, as we should be, but at the same time we know we've got a job to do and it's still a long way away from that yet."

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