Norway turn World Cup heartbreak into celebration as huge crowds pack capital

His departure meant he missed joining his teammates on the palace steps for one last “Viking row”, with tens of thousands of fans gathered below, which was led by Crown Prince Haakon on the drums.

“Erling and Sander (Berge) had to catch their plane as our trip from the US was delayed four hours,” coach Stale Solbakken said, as the squad prepared to continue the celebrations in an open-top bus parade around Oslo.

Crowds slowed the bus to a halt through central Oslo, forcing it to reverse at one point as police escorts struggled to carve out a path. Undeterred, Norway’s players celebrated with beer and waved as the party continued long after dark.

CABLES PAUSE NORWEGIAN CELEBRATIONS

There was a moment of irony when the parade was halted by low-hanging overhead cables. The players, who had been standing and waving flags on the top deck, were forced to sit down to clear the obstruction before the double-decker could proceed.

Solbakken said earlier he was convinced the ball hit a camera cable above the pitch just before Jude Bellingham scored England’s equaliser in the first half of the quarter-final.