Norway fell to England in the World Cup quarter-finals after questionable stages. The words “judge farce” and “scandal” color the news headlines right now, but something much bigger smolders behind them.
Even the defeat left the fjord country with more to celebrate than to worry about.
The tournament was not only a model game show for the Viking herd, but also a turning point in the country’s rich sports history.
Football has always been in a secondary position in the country, which puts elite class winter and track and field athletes on the world map every year. Now, for the past few weeks, such an extraordinary phenomenon has been proven in the country that there is no going back to the old days.
Norway is now a soccer nation.
Norway’s star striker Erling Haaland was already hot towards the referee during the England match. AOP
The status of the mentioned winter and athletics should not be questioned. However, no prestigious winter or athletics competition has brought the country together like the soccer World Cup.
Missing success in the world’s biggest sporting event does that.
In Norway, you could see packed race stands from north to south. The streets of the cities were filled with masses of red jerseys, and everyone knows the words to the song that Erling Haaland sang at the age of 15.
The phenomenon was best seen in the country’s capital, Oslo. I got to experience it myself when I landed in the city during the England match. At that time, I was immediately swept away by a red wave.
It wasn’t about random jerseys and national flags, but almost every visitor in the center of Oslo was wearing some kind of national football team emblem. In particular, the jersey seas consisting of the names of Haaland, Martin Ødegaard, Antonio Nusa and Alexander Sørloth stretched almost as far as the eye could see.
People sang national team songs together. Many were already planning a golden celebration after the final to be played in a little over a week – or at least the victorious semi-final against Argentina.
Several thousand people gathered in the capital Vetavä kisakatsomo. The largest of them was in Oslo’s famous town hall square, the famous Rådhusplassennilla. History was already seen there in the quarterfinals, when Norway defeated Brazil. About 50,000 people celebrated the victory like a world championship, and the Viking rowing, which became a phenomenon, caused the streets to be hugely hyped.
Although Norway bowed out in the quarterfinals, the Norwegians’ togetherness and optimism were at an all-time high. The country experienced something so great together that it simply cannot let go of this ever again.
The grandstand at Rådhusplassen exuded optimism. Timur Yilmaz
In the future, Norway is a real threat. The national team has the unwavering support of a fierce and success-hungry nation. At the same time, the star players of the national team, led by Haaland and Ødegaard, are entering their prime playing age. The country already has a leading star in the form of Haaland. Behind him hums a well-developed frame.
The country is also making huge strides in European fields, mainly led by tiny Bodø/Glimt.
Norwegian football is in a really healthy state. The sport continues to grow in the United States thanks to a team eliminated from the tournament due to questionable refereeing decisions.
That’s why Norway was the biggest winner of the quarter-final against England. In the future, the country will no longer be “just a sensation”.
