Ecstatic Norway squad celebrate World Cup progress with Viking row
Erling Haaland scored twice as Norway reached the knockout stage and players joined supporters in the fan-led rowing celebration.
- On Monday, June 22, 2026, Norway defeated Senegal 3-2 at MetLife Stadium, securing a World Cup knockout stage berth and celebrating with the viral "Viking Row" maneuver alongside fans.
- Inspired by Iceland's 2016 "Viking Clap," the "Viking Row" has become central to Norway's 2026 World Cup campaign, with fans popularizing the longboat-style rhythmic maneuver across stadiums and New York City.
- Striker Erling Haaland scored twice and participated in the celebration after the match. "Martin asked me before the game: 'Do you think we should join in?'" Haaland told Fox Sports.
- Manager Stale Solbakken called the row "fun for the fans" but a tournament gimmick, while forward Alexander Sorloth beamed describing the atmosphere as "magical."
- Norway faces France on Friday, June 26, 2026, in Foxborough, Massachusetts, to determine the Group I winner, though both teams have already qualified for the knockout stage.
62 Articles
62 Articles
Norway has had a successful start to the World Cup, but while the Norwegian national team is racing with its supporters in the stands, the Swedish players are sighing in Texas.
Iconic and exciting: the "Vikings Row" of the players and fans of Norway at MetLife Stadium is already the image of the World Cup. But also in Times Square, in the shopping centers and on the metro. In short, for now the winner of the World Cup is the Norwegian people. And it could not be otherwise for a moment waited for 26 years, celebrated with a smile and a reminder of the history of the feats of the famous ancestors. Two touches of drum tha…
After the victory over Senegal, not only did the Norwegian fans celebrate with the now world-famous Viking row, but the players and the coach also joined in. After the end of the group match, which they won 3-2, they went to the Norwegian fans, led by captain Martin Odegaard, sat on the grass and did the choreography with them. “I saw it on the Internet, it went completely viral. Martin asked me before the game: ‘Do you think we should join in?’…
In Norway, these are already classic images. Now they are spreading all over the world. After the victory against Senegal, the entire Norwegian team sat down and rowed together with the audience. – It was crazy, says Erling Haaland.
Norway's football team presented themselves as a Viking in a photo before leaving for the World Cup. Fans promptly took over the symbolism and now rowing in the same time in an imaginary Viking ship while shouting Ro! (Rudern!). After the victory against Senegal on Monday, the team around Starstormer Erling Haaland also celebrated in rowing manner. Scandinavia's press is watching the spectacle split.
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