Russian Model Anastasia Kostromitina Was “A Little Bit Hurt” to Be Called Erling Haaland’s Twin

A 24-year-old Russian model known for her soft, demure look resembles Erling Haaland so closely that people are calling her his twin. She initially admitted she was “a little bit hurt” by the comparison, but has since fully embraced being branded the female double of one of the most hypermasculine men on the planet.

Erling Haaland speaks to the media in the mixed zone at Inter Miami CF Stadium in Fort Lauderdale during the 2026 FIFA World Cup on July 9, 2026. Photo by Sam Navarro / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters.

The comparisons started about four years ago, when a friend first pointed it out, and at first she didn’t get how she looked anything like him. Now she recreates his glare, his poses, and his goal celebrations on purpose, and the resemblance only gets louder.

Anastasia Kostromitina, a Moscow-based model whose facial resemblance to Erling Haaland went viral, is captured on a smartphone video during a shoot in Moscow on July 10, 2026. Photo by Ramil Sitdikov / Reuters.

Anastasia Kostromitina, 24, went viral after her mother, Russian influencer Mariya Kostromitina (known online as Mariya Kos), posted a tongue-in-cheek Instagram reel opening with “Is it just me, or does my daughter look like a star?” and cutting to Anastasia nailing Haaland’s signature intense stare and celebration poses, side by side with the real thing. The blonde hair, the light eyes, the sharp jaw, the game face: people started calling her his twin, “separated at birth,” “Haaland in a woman’s body.”

Kostromitina stands before a camera crew at the MOTION agency studio in Moscow during an interview on July 10, 2026, weeks after her likeness to the Norwegian footballer captivated the internet. Photo by Ramil Sitdikov / Reuters.

The timing did the rest. The clip took off just as Haaland, the 6’5″ striker nicknamed “The Android,” was tearing through the World Cup. In Norway’s 2-1 upset of Brazil, he opened the scoring with a header in the 79th minute and sealed it in the 90th by finishing a counterattack; Neymar’s penalty in added time wasn’t enough. It’s the same striker whose diet runs on cow heart, raw milk, and roughly 6,000 calories a day, which is part of why the female-double framing landed so hard.

There’s no family connection at all. Kostromitina is a Moscow model signed to MOTION, with roughly 130,000 Instagram followers and campaigns for brands like Clarins, Dyson, and Uniqlo behind her. Her boyfriend has acknowledged the resemblance and tells her she’s beautiful anyway.

“Now I realise that being similar to such a cool athlete, even just physically, is actually not bad at all, so I decided to play on it,” she said. “If people can laugh, why not? I can be beautiful, I can be funny.” On the pile-on, she added: “haters don’t bother me, they just boost the activity.”

Erling Haaland laughs with teammates after Norway secured a quarterfinal berth by defeating Brazil in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 at New York New Jersey Stadium on July 5, 2026. Photo by Dylan Martinez / Reuters.

She’s backing Norway, is open to a selfie, and hopes Haaland himself reaches out: “Unfortunately, no, but I hope he will contact me.” Maybe he’ll even gift her with one of his Birkin purses.

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