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If you had caught today’s 5AM MYT quarter-final clash between Norway and England, and stayed on slightly more beyond the grueling match, you’d have noticed that Haaland from Norway, along with a few of his other teammates were seen hugging a few English opponents. Truth be told, this game could have gone either way because in the last 25 minutes, Norway really, really had many chances to equalise and score more goals. But at last, the English lads won by sheer luck.

Even then, Norway deserves respect because of what a few of the Norway team members did, after the long, exhausting, thrilling match. They acknowledged, thanked and hugged their opponents, the mighty English knights, who are representing a big football nation, and are through to the semi-finals.

While England taking home the win is pretty much the norm, nobody thought that the game would be this close, heart-racing, and nail-biting. With Norway shocking England with the opening goal, you would have thought that Norway would have yet another chance at scoring. But of course, with all that had gone down in the game, this turned out to be easier said than executed.

So, while the Viking power failed to translate into further goals for Norway, with near misses, Norway was powerful enough, they put up a tough fight with the English lads, saying, “Hey, it’s not so easy for you to score”.

The match lasted 123 minutes, owing to injury time and with neither side able to deliver a reasonable goal to widen the scoreline in the regular 90-minute bracket.

So, even when Norway had substituted Haaland, and Haaland was disappointed, although it has been said that he was exhausted, after playing in such humidity and heat levels in Miami, he still didn’t forget to show some sportsmanship, by hugging and thanking his opponents, even when Norway lost. They’ll be remembered for having at least one team member who’s genuine enough to thank his opponents for a game well-played. A few other team members from the Norwegian side were also seen doing the same.

This is why, even though, Norway bows out of the World Cup tournament after today’s quarter-final, the Haaland effect will remain for an extended period. At the same time, it’s worth noting that both the younger Haaland and older Haaland have the English Premier League to thank, so the younger Haaland can’t be so nasty to the English players.

If anything, Norway teaches you to be your authentic self, never be pretentious and never be overconfident in anything and everything you do. The world has transformed because of your shining example, Haaland. We can only hope you’ll keep rowing further and further for Norway.

The Haaland effect has now even extended to other arenas, including badminton and parenting, with many playing the related Ha Ha Ha song, meant to be a playful jab on Haaland’s last name.

For many years, those who have not been to Norway would roughly know that Norway is famous for 1) a few notable music bands and artists who sing in the English language, 2) Norwegian salmon 3) Northern Lights, but today, Haaland along with his team have made their mark on the world of especially football.

Norway is home to several different sports, including ice hockey, ice skating, track-and-field, and skiing. While the country has the largest participation in football, Haaland’s famous now because of both his distinctive features, personality, and height. Many well-known faces tend to also be full of themselves because they assume they are of a higher status than everyone else, once they have achieved everything that’s possible. Lots of these people need to realise that there are ups and downs in life, it doesn’t matter whether you’re famous. So far, from his post-match conduct and interviews, he has been a light, even in the darkest of times, when things don’t go Norway’s way. That’s why non-football fans or those who don’t follow the English Premier League can like him, even if in the beginning, his facial expressions can take some getting used to.

Norway last qualified for the World Cup in 1998, with their run ending at the Round of 16.

Under Norway’s team captain Martin Odergaad (who also captains and plays one of the midfielders for one of the English football clubs) and striker Haaland, the team was able to make it to the quarter-final stage.  Part of Haaland’s strategy is to score goals, even in the calmest of moments, especially when defenders on the opposing team can’t read his next move. Haaland got past five-time champion Brazil, and Ivory Coast in the group match, but unfortunately, this strategy just didn’t quite work out for him today, as England’s defenders had hardly misread Haaland’s moves.

Even then, team Norway deserves to be commended for the way they handled the defeat, even if the team might have felt despair, frustration and dejection. It takes a lot of guts to still be smiling and talking to your opponents, especially after a battle like that. Perhaps, this is due to the Viking spirit?

This, fortunately, also means that Norway’s fans had accepted the outcome with grace, even though there’s stress and tears, at first. They can be proud of Norway’s journey.

Here’s to hoping there’ll be Norway once again in 2030, with Haaland, preferably.