Oslo (GNP): More than 100,000 supporters packed the streets of Oslo on Monday to welcome home Norway’s national football team, turning a painful World Cup quarter-final exit into a nationwide celebration.
Norway’s run at the tournament ended Saturday with a 2-1 extra-time loss to England, a result that denied the Nordic side a place in the semi-finals but did nothing to dampen the reception awaiting the squad back home.
The team touched down to a traditional water cannon salute before beginning a homecoming parade through the capital. Supporters packed the grounds of the Royal Palace and stretched down the main thoroughfare, Karl Johans gate, as the squad first held an audience with King Harald before stepping out to greet fans, with the Royal Guard standing at attention behind them. Tens of thousands gathered on the palace square below as the players led a “Viking row” chant from the palace steps, with Crown Prince Haakon keeping time on the drums.
Striker Erling Haaland missed that closing moment, having left the celebrations early. Coach Stale Solbakken explained afterward that Haaland and midfielder Sander Berge needed to catch a flight after the squad’s journey from the United States had already been delayed by several hours.
Bus Parade Runs Into Low Cables
The celebrations continued with an open-top bus parade around Oslo, though crowds repeatedly slowed the vehicle to a halt through the city centre, at one point forcing it to reverse as police escorts worked to clear a path. At another point, low-hanging overhead cables briefly interrupted proceedings, forcing players who had been standing and waving flags on the upper deck to sit down so the double-decker bus could pass underneath. The parade eventually completed its 1.3-kilometre route at City Hall Square, where large numbers of fans had waited for hours to see the team arrive.
Captain Martin Odegaard told Norwegian broadcaster NRK that the scale of support the team had received, both in the United States during the tournament and back home in Norway, had exceeded anything the squad had anticipated.
The warmth of the homecoming stood in contrast to lingering frustration over the quarter-final defeat itself. Solbakken has maintained he believes the ball struck a camera cable suspended above the pitch shortly before Jude Bellingham scored England’s first-half equaliser, a claim FIFA has repeatedly denied, saying no such contact occurred before the goal.
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The turnout of more than 100,000 people, coming just two days after a knockout defeat, underscored how much goodwill Norway’s tournament run had built with the public, even in defeat. The celebration suggests that, for Norwegian fans, a heartbreaking exit to a fellow European side was no obstacle to marking what many in Oslo clearly regarded as a memorable World Cup campaign for the national team.
Managing Editor at Global News Pakistan (GNP), with a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from Riphah International University, graduated with a Gold Medal. Reach out at sabahtareengnp@gmail.com
