Huge crowds pack capital
\n\u201cThe support we have received in the USA and here at home in Norway, has been beyond all expectations,\u201d says Odegaard
\n OSLO
\nMore than 100,000 fans flooded the streets of the Norwegian capital Oslo on Monday to give their football team a heroes\u2019 welcome, turning the heartbreak of their World Cup exit into a massive national celebration.
\nA 2-1 extra-time defeat by England on Saturday brought Norway\u2019s historic run to an end in the quarter-finals, shattering the Nordics\u2019 dreams of a place in the last four. However, it did not stop the country celebrating their heroes.
\nMassive crowds under the Norwegian summer sun filled the grounds of the Royal Palace early on Monday afternoon, with an unofficial turnout estimated at more than 100,000 people.
\nThe Norway squad touched down to a traditional water cannon salute before commencing their homecoming parade in the capital.
\nThe line of supporters quickly packed the palace square before stretching far down the main street, Karl Johans gate, as the squad first attended an audience with King Harald.
\n\u201cI have felt very proud, it has been amazing, I have been both at home and in Spain, and the atmosphere between the Norwegian people has been there all the time, so it has been unbelievable,\u201d Norway fan Catherine Breiland told Reuters.
\nThe team stepped out to greet the fans with the Royal Guard standing to attention behind them.
\nStriker Erling Haaland was noticeably absent from the final stage of the celebrations, having left early.
\nHis departure meant he missed joining his teammates on the palace steps for one last \u201cViking row\u201d, with tens of thousands of fans gathered below, which was led by Crown Prince Haakon on the drums.
\n\u201cErling and Sander (Berge) had to catch their plane as our trip from the US was delayed four hours,\u201d coach Stale Solbakken said, as the squad prepared to continue the celebrations in an open-top bus parade around Oslo.
\nCrowds 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\u2019s players celebrated with beer and waved as the party continued long after dark.
\n\u201cThe run the Norwegian team has had this year has been way beyond anything I\u2019ve ever expected. I feel everybody in Norway should just honour the national team, which has done such an amazing job during this whole cup,\u201d said Nicolai Sivesind, who travelled to Oslo to take part in World Cup events.
\nCables pause Norwegian celebrations
\nThere was a moment of irony when the parade was halted by low-hanging overhead cables.
\nThe 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.
\nSolbakken said earlier he was convinced the ball hit a camera cable above the pitch just before Jude Bellingham scored England\u2019s equaliser in the first half of the quarter-final.
\nWorld football\u2019s governing body Fifa has repeatedly denied that the ball touched any wire before the goal.
\nHours after the parade began, it completed the 1.3-km route at City Hall Square, where tens of thousands of patient supporters were still waiting to welcome the team.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t think anyone had imagined this,\u201d captain Martin Odegaard told Norwegian broadcaster NRK. \u201cThe support we have received in the USA and here at home in Norway, has been beyond all expectations. It has been absolutely incredible to see.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Huge crowds pack capital \u201cThe support we have received in the USA and here at home in Norway, has been beyond all expectations,\u201d says Odegaard OSLO More than 100,000 fans flooded the streets of the Norwegian capital Oslo on Monday to give their football team a heroes\u2019 welcome, turning the heartbreak of their World Cup […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":556304,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-556310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n