EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Norway’s incredible men’s World Cup journey has rowed on to the quarterfinal stage for the first time in their history and the Vikings show no signs of slowing down.
MORE — Norway’s fans continue to inspire their team
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Erling Haaland’s late double led them to a magical win against Brazil on Sunday in New Jersey as their fans and players celebrated the upset wildly at the final whistle.
The Norwegian players, including Haaland, were a little bit stunned by what they had achieved.
“I couldn’t quite believe it. I didn’t dream of this ever in my life,” Haaland told reporters afterwards. “I dreamed of playing in the World Cup with Norway and taking them to the World Cup but I never expected to win against Brazil. Let’s be honest and say that. I thought it was not possible to do some things, but I guess I’m wrong.”
“You don’t dare to dream about these kind of things. Of course you dream about playing for the national team, you don’t dare to dream about beating Brazil in the knockout stage,” Norwegian left back David Moller Wolfe said.
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Goalkeeper Orjan Nyland, who saved Bruno Guimaraes’ penalty kick early and made some brilliant stops to play a big part in this famous victory, hopes their run will inspire everyone out there rowing along with them.
“We have written some history so hopefully many young kids in Norway can relive this moment when they grow to play football and they can dream to one day stand in the same position as me and the rest of us. It is possible no matter where you are from,” Nyland said.
And no matter where you are from, you will have seen something about Norway’s exploits at this World Cup.
Norway’s Row has taken over this tournament with their fans vastly unnumbered in New Jersey against Brazil, but they just kept on rowing in unison and they inspired their team to make history.
Young Norwegian winger Andreas Schjelderup, who came on at half time and set up Haaland for both his goals, marveled at Norway’s fans.
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“For the fans in the USA and Norway I want to thank them for their amazing support. The row and everything is really amazing,” Schjelderup said. “I think it has brought the Norwegian people a lot closer and you can feel how happy everyone in Norway is right now. It is so amazing.”
There have been many great stories at this World Cup, but as it stands Norway are the story.
This quarterfinal run and the way their fans have taken over is the stuff dreams are made of.
“We take each game as it comes and I hope we win the whole thing, but we will see. Everything is a bonus!” Norway fan Hanne Kristine Austenaa told us in Boston earlier in this tournament.
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Before this World Cup they were the dark horse team who looked the most likely to go on a run. Now they’re doing it as they face either Mexico or England in Miami in the quarterfinals.
“We need to go game-by-game and see how far we can go. Now we are in the quarterfinal in Miami and it is just crazy to say it out loud. I am so happy,” Schjelderup said.
And they know they have an ace up their sleeve in Haaland.
Amid the euphoria of the post-game celebrations Haaland led the now famous row by beating the drum as the players and fans rowed in unison.
Haaland is the undisputed talisman of this fine Norwegian team but Norway are very much a team. They’ve been building together as a unit for a moment like this for many years as their players talked about taking the next step as a team.
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That said, it is Haaland who gives his teammates the belief they can do anything.
“It is almost like a cheat code,” Moller Wolfe told Pro Soccer Talk, laughing. “Sometimes you feel like you’re already leading 1-0 or 2-0 before the game even starts because you know he’s going to score a goal or two. It is unbelievable. That second goal where he just gets it and thinks ‘why not?’ and then it goes in the back of the net. It is unbelievable to have a player like him.”
Schjelderup, like everyone else connected with Norway, is running out of superlatives for Haaland’s magic.
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“For Erling, I am lost for words and we are all lost for words,” Schjelderup said. “I think we are all just happy that he is Norwegian and playing for us. The thing he does every game to score, it doesn’t matter. You can just cross the ball or pass to him blindly and he will score. We are so lucky to have him and we appreciate him very much and hopefully he will score some more goals in the next games. We are looking forward to that.”
The Manchester City star has now scored seven goals in four games at this World Cup, level with Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi in the golden boot race, taking his international tally to a monstrous 62 goals in 54 games.
Haaland’s goals coupled with a solid defensive unit means Norway won’t fear anyone and plenty of teams will fear them.
But Norway still can’t quite believe they’re in the quarterfinals. And Haaland can’t believe he’s atop the scoring charts with Mbappe and Messi.
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“I never dreamt of this,” Haaland said, holding his arms out in the air. “It is a bit surrealistic to be in the moment with the biggest players in the World Cup. Of course as a football player you want to be in the World Cup and you want to perform. But let’s be honest, to score seven goals for Norway in the World Cup it’s quite special. It is unreal. I don’t have words. It is difficult to put words in what I am feeling, what I am doing, because it is unreal. I need to pinch myself sometimes in the arm because it is big.”
Norway now they’ve achieved something special but they’re still staying grounded as others talk up their chances of going all the way and pulling off a few more shocks.
“We know we are still only Norway, we are a small country and everything,” Moller Wolfe smiled. “We are very humble but of course on our day we can create trouble for many, many teams… We are just enjoying.”
And everyone is enjoying what Norway, led by Haaland and the row, have brought to this World Cup as their magical journey continues.
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“On how much it means for Norway, I think we are changing the nation,” Haaland explained. “We have been growing balls now over time on playing football and I think the way we play today shows that Norway is a fantastic football team and we are actually one of the better teams in Europe and the world because what we’ve been doing is amazing. It took 28 years [to get back to the World Cup], took some time, I’m 25 years old so you can’t really blame me for that. It is unbelievable. I am proud of my country and I am proud of everyone.”
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