Emma Willman, the South Carolina-based hair creator now tied to the Erling Haaland sister comparison, turned a french braid tutorial into a viral referral point for soccer fans. Her early June video pulled more than 1.3 million likes and 181,000 comments, then sent the conversation into a second wave when she leaned into the resemblance herself.
1.3 million likes on Willman
The original post worked because it gave viewers a clean comparison point: a hair tutorial with enough close framing to make the resemblance easy to spot, then easy to repeat. Willman later said the reaction only sharpened when the clip circulated during the World Cup tournament, which pushed a beauty post into a cross-sport conversation that brands and fans could join without much effort.
Erling Haaland joined that loop with a simple “Hi👍🏻” under the video, and the reply drew more than 2.3 million likes. Adidas went one step further with, “There is nø way you two aren’t related,” while Modelo USA told people to “check the family tree ASAP.” Those responses turned the post from a creator’s one-off moment into a shared social object, the kind of low-friction engagement advertisers like because it travels fast and stays legible.
Haaland’s braids and bun
Willman answered by recreating Haaland’s golden double braids and signature slicked-back bun in follow-up hair tutorials. The July 7 video made the comparison concrete instead of leaving it as comment-section shorthand, and it also gave her account a way to keep the traffic moving after the first viral wave faded.
Willman said, “It’s been so fun to see — especially to see all the fans in the comments,” and added, “I also see the resemblance.” She also said the likeness had been remarked on for as long as she has been on social media, but that it became more noticeable once the braid video spread during the World Cup tournament. That is the part worth watching here: the internet did not invent the resemblance, it simply gave it scale.
Miami on July 11
Willman said she was headed to the England vs. Norway World Cup game in Miami on July 11 and added, “I’m really excited about the trip and going to see the game in person and whatever is able to com” She has already turned a passing lookalike joke into an audience-building format, and the trip gives her a live setting where that comparison can keep paying attention instead of disappearing into the feed.
Whether Willman ever met Haaland in person is not answered, but the story does not need that payoff to land. The better read is simpler: she found a repeatable angle, used it fast, and made the resemblance part of her content rather than something the comments controlled.
