OSLO : More than 100,000 supporters lined the streets of Oslo on Monday to welcome home Norway’s national team, turning the disappointment of their World Cup quarter-final exit into a nationwide celebration.
Norway’s hopes of reaching the semi-finals ended with a 2-1 extra-time defeat by England on Saturday, but fans gathered in huge numbers under the summer sun to salute the team’s best World Cup run in decades.
The squad arrived in the capital to a traditional water cannon salute before beginning a day of celebrations that included an audience with King Harald and an open-top bus parade through the city.
Supporters packed the grounds outside the Royal Palace before spilling along Karl Johans gate, Oslo’s main thoroughfare, creating a sea of red, white and blue.
“I have felt very proud, it has been amazing. I have been both at home and in Spain, and the atmosphere among the Norwegian people has been there all the time, so it has been unbelievable,” supporter Catherine Breiland told Reuters.
The players appeared on the palace steps to greet the crowd, with the Royal Guard standing behind them, before taking part in the team’s trademark “Viking row” celebration led by Crown Prince Haakon on the drums.
Striker Erling Haaland was absent from the final stage of the festivities after leaving early to catch a flight.
“Erling and Sander (Berge) had to catch their plane as our trip from the U.S. was delayed four hours,” coach Stale Solbakken said.
The open-top bus parade was repeatedly slowed by the size of the crowds, with police escorts struggling to clear a route through central Oslo. At one stage, the bus briefly reversed before continuing as players waved to supporters and celebrated onboard.
“The run the Norwegian team has had this year has been way beyond anything I’ve ever expected. I feel everybody in Norway should just honour the national team, which has done such an amazing job during this whole cup,” supporter Nicolai Sivesind told Reuters.
The celebrations were briefly interrupted when the bus encountered low-hanging overhead cables, forcing players standing on the top deck to sit down before the vehicle could continue.
The moment echoed Solbakken’s claim after the quarter-final defeat that the ball had struck a camera cable moments before Jude Bellingham’s first-half equaliser for England. FIFA has repeatedly denied that the ball made contact with any overhead wire before the goal.
The parade concluded several hours later at City Hall Square, where thousands of supporters were still waiting to greet the players.
“I don’t think anyone had imagined this,” captain Martin Odegaard told Norwegian broadcaster NRK. “The support we have received in the USA and here at home in Norway has been beyond all expectations. It has been absolutely incredible to see.”
