FIFA World Cup 2026: Norway’s ‘Viking Row’ fever reaches India as ambassador celebrates historic World Cup run

NEW DELHI: Norway’s Ambassador to India, May-Elin Stener, led the viral ‘Viking Row’ celebration at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in New Delhi on Thursday, joining embassy officials and football fans in recreating the signature chant that has become synonymous with Norway’s historic FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign.

Norway’s World Cup campaign has captured global attention because of the ‘Viking Row’, a synchronised celebration in which supporters mimic rowing a Viking longboat. The tradition has gone viral across social media, with players including Erling Haaland and captain Martin Odegaard joining supporters after victories.

Appearing in their first-ever quarterfinals against England, scheduled for July 11 (local time), Norway’s incredible run in the tournament, which also includes an impressive 2-1 win over Brazil in the Round of 16, has been powered by Manchester City’s goal-scoring machine Haaland, who is amongst the contenders for the Golden Boot with seven goals, just one behind Argentina icon Lionel Messi.

#WATCH | Delhi: Norway’s Ambassador to India, May-Elin Stener, led the viral ‘Viking Row’ celebration at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in New Delhi on Thursday, joining embassy officials and football fans in recreating the signature chant that has become synonymous with Norway’s… pic.twitter.com/vhGIXHtpLd

— ANI (@ANI) July 9, 2026

May-Elin Stener said Norway reaching the quarter-finals for the first time has created immense excitement across the country. She praised the team’s strong unity and collective effort, adding that the success has brought Norway into the global spotlight while allowing the nation to share its history and showcase the widespread passion and support for football among its people.

Farewell to dear colleague @AmbAckermann – Thank you for your friendship! Finished the way with a #VikingRow! Thanks for joining, Amb. Josel F. Ignacio, Geetanjali Shree, Gauri Gill @ShekharGupta @suhasinih Nadeem Haidar @horror06 @ShubhajitRoy @dhawan_himanshi @AmritaCheemaTV pic.twitter.com/B6OT4zSeZ8

— Ambassador May-Elin Stener (@NorwayAmbIndia) July 8, 2026

“This is the first time we are in the quarterfinal. That’s very exciting for the whole of Norway. So that’s the feeling that we have. Very excited… we also have a very good team supporting him and playing very well together. that’s our strength… It’s very exciting that Norway in this way is coming into the news. Then we can also shed a little light on our history and we can also show the world that we are very happy and very supportive of our football team and everyone in Norway is very interested in football,” she said.

Norway’s clash against England will witness Haaland battling the talismanic England skipper Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham. During the match against Brazil, Haaland’s goal tally in the World Cup went to seven goals after a brace, making him the player with the joint-most goals in his debut World Cup since Poland’s Grzegorz Lato scored seven in 1974.

Haaland is averaging a goal every 14 touches in the tournament, the lowest ratio of any player to score three or more goals in a single World Cup edition over the past 60 years.

Haaland has netted seven goals from just 18 shots at the 2026 World Cup, giving him a 39% conversion rate. This is the best finishing efficiency (with 15 or more shots) in a single World Cup since Gary Lineker in 1986, who scored six goals from 15 shots at a 40 per cent rate.

With the win over Brazil, Norway are the only side among 91 nations Brazil have faced that they have never managed to beat, with two draws and three defeats in five meetings. (ANI)