Norway's 'Quarterfinal Myth' Team Returns Home to Hero's Welcome; 100,000 Fans Join 'Rowing' Celebration

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The Norwegian national team has returned home in glory after achieving their first-ever quarterfinal finish in a World Cup in 28 years. A crowd of 100,000 fans filled the plaza, joining the players in a rowing celebration as they enjoyed the festivities.

Reporter Yu Byeongmin has the story.

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Three Norwegian Air Force fighter jets escorted the chartered plane carrying the national team all the way to the capital, Oslo.

Along with a welcome message from an air traffic controller at Oslo Airport,

[Clearance for landing, Norway national team. Welcome home.]

Fire trucks sprayed water cannons over the chartered plane to greet the team that wrote a new chapter in their nation's football history.

Amidst the applause of airport staff, the team boarded a bus to the Royal Palace to pay a courtesy call to King Harald V.

Some 100,000 Oslo citizens gathered in front of the palace, erupting in thunderous applause as the team, led by head coach Solbakken, appeared under the escort of the Royal Guard.

Soon after, to the beat of a drum played by Crown Prince Haakon, the players and citizens joined together in the Viking rowing celebration that became a sensation throughout the tournament, bringing the festival to its peak.

[Norwegian Fan: I feel like everyone in Norway should be here today to celebrate the national team.]

The team held a motorcade through downtown Oslo, creating a spectacular scene as the rowing celebration broke out everywhere they went.

Norway's star player Haaland could not attend the downtown event due to a connecting flight issue, but he drew attention upon arriving at Oslo Airport by carrying a stuffed raccoon.

It was reported that Haaland purchased the stuffed raccoon when he visited a souvenir shop in Texas, USA, where the team's base camp was located, last week, where he also bought a cowboy hat and boots that became a massive topic of conversation.

Haaland boasted on social media that "the raccoon followed me home" and asked fans to help name it, receiving an enthusiastic response.

The stuffed raccoons sold online by the souvenir shop sold out immediately.

Reported by Yu Byeongmin | Video by Hwang Ji-young | Graphics by Choi Jin-hoe | Footage courtesy of YouTube, Erling Haaland's Instagram @FOXSOCCER
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.