England may have knocked Norway out of the World Cup, but it will take far more than that to knock the bromance between Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland off kilter. In the run-up to Saturday night’s match, social media was awash with excavated video clips and montages celebrating the longstanding bond between the two star players, who first met back when they were youngsters starting out at the German club Borussia Dortmund.
And before they took to the pitch, the duo shared a jokey greeting, with Bellingham planting a playful kick on Haaland’s back as the two teams filed out from the tunnel – worlds away from the frowny machismo that often tends to come out in the moments before a match.
All this footage of the two men at the top of their game hugging it out and celebrating each other’s wins is not only a reminder that good sportsmanship can manifest itself in different ways but also a reminder that beyond the doom-and-gloom prognostication there is a generation of men actively rejecting toxic masculinity.
Indeed, compared to the cliché status signifiers adopted by the likes of Andrew Tate and HSTikkyTokky, the British streamer who took a bleak starring role in Louis Theroux’s recent Inside the Manosphere documentary – think glaring displays of wealth, the big cars and the boasting about promiscuity, as well as the inevitable derogatory attitudes to women – Haaland, Bellingham and many more high profile young men are offering a version masculinity that feels far more postivie and, well, modern.
They are wealthy and charismatic, yes, but their overwhelming vibe is well-adjusted, emotionally literate, respectful and down-to-earth. They don’t hate women; they love them – whether it’s their mums, wives, partners or best friends. It doesn’t just strike a contrast to the depressing worldview peddled by the manosphere gang, but also to many of the footballers who came before them, with their drunken off-pitch antics and aggy attitudes to their competitors (indeed, it’s England’s cricketers who now seem to be getting a reputation for the former).
Take Haaland, for example. Already well known in the UK thanks to his consistent quality at Manchester City, the ponytailed Norwegian has become something of an international breakout star thanks to his unabashedly goofy social media presence, where he isn’t afraid to laugh at himself. Whether its his Snapchat selfies with Shrek or attempts at a Deep South accent, everyone has been enchanted by the charming Scandi whimsy of this “kooky Viking guy”.
Unlike so many of the angry podcasters who are seeped in bitterness and toxic blame culture, these are men who are genuinely happy in their skin, which means they can be happy for others. When asked to sum up how he was feeling after Norway’s crash-out, he didn’t seek to apportion blame or indulge in regrets, instead focusing on all the positives that this wild experience has brought him. “I’m quite happy with my life,” he said. “I’m enjoying it, I’m in a good place.”
In sharp contrast to the vile rhetoric that is spouted from the meanest mouths of the manosphere that constantly berate women, especially those that are strong and independent, both Haaland and Bellingham share a healthy respect for their hardworking mums. Since 2025, Haaland has worn his full name, Braut Haaland, on the back of his shirt when playing for his national team, as a way of honouring his mother, the Norwegian heptathlete champion Gry Marita Braut, as well as his footballer dad Alf-Inge.
The impact of Bellingham’s mum Denise, on his career is well documented, too. When Jude was signed by Dortmund for £25m at the age of just 17 – making him the most expensive 17-year-old in footballing history – Denise moved with him, leaving husband Mark at home in Birmingham to look after their younger son Jobe.
In uprooting her UK life to accompany her older boy, Denise helped him to transition smoothly into the demands of playing for a foreign club, managing the logistics and, presumably, preventing him from falling into the traps that so often befall young sports stars when they are given free rein with inordinate amounts of cash. All of this allowed Jude to better focus on his game. Now the England team – and the whole country – are reaping the rewards of that sacrifice.
I can say without a doubt that my mother has been more important in my career than any coach I’ve had
Jude Bellingham
And none of this is taken for granted. It’s rare that Bellingham gives an interview without hailing the impact that Denise – whom he nicknames “the queen” – has had on his success so far. “I can say without a doubt that my mother has been more important in my career than any coach I’ve had,” he has said.
In the immediate aftermath of the Norway game, too, he was quick to single her out for praise, revealing that her comments had influenced how he’d acted on the pitch with a yellow card hanging over him from a previous match against DR Congo. “My mum was telling me all week to watch my language, watch my tackles, watch my face, watch my emotions,” he admitted. “So, yeah, I think she drilled it into me all week about being careful of that yellow card.”
And while the so-called manosphere influencers tell their male followers they need to man up and not show their feelings, this new cohort couldn’t be more different there either. Taking their cue from the emotionally intelligent Gareth Southgate, who instilled in the England team that showing vulnerability didn’t have to mean showing weakness, Bellingham seems keenly aware that his profile on the world’s sporting stage makes him a role model for other young men.
“If we can show vulnerability, then it opens up a bigger conversation for people who are struggling in the darkness,” he has said. “It’s the duty of people like me… to be role models.” Again, it couldn’t be further from the emotionally stunted tough-guy masculinity propounded by the manosphere. In fact, they have never looked more out of touch and sad.
Captain Harry Kane, meanwhile, has long been doing good work off the pitch, too, launching his foundation in 2022 to focus on mental health support and proactive education about emotional wellbeing and resilience. The fact that mental fitness is seen as much of an asset as physical fitness is a breath of fresh air.
And these types of actions seem to be having a huge impact on a generation of young men, too. A 2025 Ipsos poll showed that 76 per cent of young men said they had at least one positive male role model. A YouGov poll showed that 71 per cent of young men held an unfavourable view of Andrew Tate and influencers of his ilk.
In another recent survey, 63 per cent of men aged 18 to 29 said having children was important to them and there was increasing enthusiasm for hands-on fatherhood rather than the older “breadwinner only” model. What’s more, positive sporting role models like Gareth Southgate and Andrew Flintoff are pushing against toxic masculinity, speaking to young men and looking to build further on a culture of tolerance and respect.
So whatever happens on the pitch on Wednesday night, England still has plenty to celebrate – and we can cheer for a victory over the manosphere.
