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1. Before The Whistle by Rytchan

   Fandoms: Men's Football RPF, FIFA World Cup Fandom, jude bellingham - Fandom, erling haaland - Fandom  

   • Mature
   • Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
   • M/M
   • Work in Progress

   20 Aug 2026

   Tags

   • Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
   • Jude Bellingham/Erling Håland
   • Jude Bellingham
   • Erling Håland
   • Bukayo Saka
   • Declan Rice
   • John Stones
   • England National Football Team Players
   • Norway National Football Team Players
   • Sander Berge
   • Martin Ødegaard
   • Alexander Sørloth
   • FIFA World Cup 2026
   • Football | Soccer
   • Best Friends to Lovers
   • Mutual Pining
   • Idiots in Love
   • A Kiss They Never Talked About
   • Friends on Opposing Teams
   • Text messaging
   • Teammates being Teammates
   • locker room banter
   • flirting disguised as banter
   • Public Scrutiny
   • Media speculation
   • POV Alternating
   • everyone knows except them
   • Protective Erling Håland
   • physical affection
   • Happy Ending
   • Slow Burn
   • Quietly Devoted Erling Håland
   • Erling Håland Remembers Everything
   • Erling Håland Is Bad at Saying What He Means
   • Protective Jude Bellingham
   • Touchy-Feely Jude Bellingham
   • Jude Bellingham Uses Humour as a Defence Mechanism
   • Jude Bellingham Is Bad at Waiting
   • Years of Unresolved Tension
   • They Communicate Through Football Shirts
   • Four Years of Avoiding One Conversation
   • Love Between the Messages
   • The Shirt Is a Metaphor
   • Idiots in Love but They’re Very Good at Football
   • Erling Håland Says More by Staying
   • Fluff and Yearning

   Summary

   England versus Norway in a World Cup quarter-final should be simple: one match, one winner, no hard feelings.

   Except Jude and Erling have years of messages, hugs, terrible jokes, and one kiss neither of them has ever mentioned again. Now the whole world is watching, their teammates won’t stop talking, and pretending it meant nothing is getting harder by the day.

   ⚽ ⚽ ⚽

   Five days before the whistle, football is the easy part.

   Language:

   English

   Words:

   50,603

   Chapters:

   6/7

   Comments:

   202

   Kudos:

   481

   Bookmarks:

   98

   Hits:

   10,043