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Snapshots are on the ground reports from our editorial department, field notes offering context, perspective, and a sharp lens on the cultures shaping the game.
Editorials
Members
Think Tank
Image Licensing
About
Snapshots are on the ground reports from our editorial department, field notes offering context, perspective, and a sharp lens on the cultures shaping the game.
NORWAY COMES HOME
July 27 2026
Oslo, Norway
Oslo, Norway
Almost three hours late, they walk out of the castle to greet the 90,000 people filling the castle square in Oslo.
The Norwegian national team looked exhausted from a long flight from Miami, having been sent directly to an audience with the King. Now, they were finally going to row with the people.
The mood was elated, but relaxed. These last 40 days have been among the most significant in Norwegian recent history. The party has been non-stop since the tournament began, and very rarely, if ever, has the country been flipped so thoroughly on its head. When the open bus with the players on top started moving (at a snail's pace) through the city towards parliament, it all took off again, one last time.
It's what happens when you qualify for the first time in 28 years. All the old stories of the group games in '98 have long ago become mythic, and everyone has waited so long for something to completely lose themselves in that they have forgotten how they are supposed to react to it.
Many were not even born last time out, including many of the players.
One thing is qualifying for the tournament. Actually going to the World Cup and performing is another. We knew this team was capable. They were undefeated in qualifying, dispatching Italy both at home and away. Hopes were high, but cautious.
After the first group stage game against Iraq, World Cup fever took us all. It was all we could talk about.
The win against Brazil was a tectonic shift in how we view ourselves as a footballing nation. Beating the country that is the quintessential "World Cup country" — forever tied to Norwegian football history through the famous win in the '98 group stage — made us forget everything else for about a week.
The best part is that this team has united us around something positive. Most things that make us come together in such a big way are reactions to war, terrorism, or other tragedies. In the last month, we have all rowed together and allowed ourselves to completely lose it.
Many Norwegians fell in love with the game in the past few weeks. Football is an extraordinary force, but seasoned fans know that for every great game there are equal amounts of suffering.
This team is great, and will create more golden moments to revel in. But this crazy, extraordinary summer is one we will never experience again.