As an Englishman living in Norway, I’ve spent the last month watching this country completely fall in love with its football team. Now it’s over. England’s 2-1 extra-time win in the FIFA World Cup quarter-final brought an incredible Norwegian journey to an end, and I’ll admit I felt far sadder than I ever expected.
Over the last few weeks, I have seen something that I wish every football fan could experience at least once. Over the last month, football has been absolutely everywhere. You couldn’t walk through Oslo without seeing Norwegian flags hanging from balconies and windows. Schools and nurseries were covered in posters wishing Erling Haaland, Martin Ødegaard and the rest of the squad good luck.
Even a trip to the supermarket became part of the tournament, with World Cup displays and players’ faces greeting you almost everywhere you looked.
It genuinely felt like an entire country had come together behind one team.
Then came the match days. Of course, there were plenty of places showing the games. If you wanted to watch with a beer in your hand, you could.
But there were just as many places for families. The biggest fan zone was set up in Oslo’s Rådhusplassen, where around 100,000 people gathered before the England game. It was a family event and alcohol wasn’t allowed. Parents, grandparents and children all stood together waving flags, singing songs and counting down to kick-off.
Nobody cared how old you were. Nobody cared where you came from. Everyone simply wanted to enjoy the occasion together.
That, for me, was the biggest difference and the thing Englsih fans could learn from the Norwegians.
Football wasn’t just about the ninety minutes. It felt like a celebration that everyone had been invited to.
Even after Norway beat Brazil, when the streets filled with people celebrating late into the night, there was never any feeling that things were getting out of hand. Cars drove through the city with Norwegian flags hanging from the windows while people beeped their horns. Thousands filled the streets, laughing, singing and celebrating together.
When the celebrations finally came to an end, another thing caught my eye. There wasn’t rubbish everywhere.
At Rådhusplassen, volunteers walked through the crowds collecting bottles and rubbish throughout the event. Many supporters handed over their empty bottles or simply put them in the bins themselves.
It might sound like a tiny detail, but somehow it summed up the whole tournament.
People looked after the city because it was their celebration. Even after England ended the dream, that feeling never disappeared.
Instead of anger, there was pride. Right after the game finished on Sunday morning, around 20,000 people gathered outside the Royal Palace in Oslo to thank the players for giving the country a World Cup it will never forget.
The famous Karl Johans Gate was quieter than it had been in recent weeks, but people still came together to celebrate what this team had achieved.
There were smiles. There were tears. There was applause. And, most importantly, people were still rowing.
Nobody expected Norway to reach the quarter-finals after waiting 28 years to get back to the World Cup.
They left as heroes, and now there is one thing I hope we never lose sight of. Football is at its very best when it brings an entire country together. And over the last few weeks, I’ve been lucky enough to watch that happen first-hand.
