North Carolina [US], July 9 (ANI): Google has also hopped on the viral ‘Viking Row’ celebration trend made popular by Norway during the ongoing FIFA World Cup, with an animation of the celebration appearing upon searching the name of the team’s superstar player Erling Haaland.
Norway’s 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 Haaland and captain Martin Odegaard joining supporters after victories. Appearing in their first-ever quarterfinal against England, scheduled for July 12, 2:30 AM, Norway’s incredible run in the tournament, which also includes an impressive 2-1 win over Brazil, 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.
Posting on X, Haaland acknowledged the nod to the ‘Viking Row’ celebration from Google, saying, “One thing to do today… search my name on Google.”
https://x.com/ErlingHaaland/status/2075212863304618014
Indeed, on searching Haaland’s name, a party-pop icon appears. On clicking the icon, animated figures wearing ‘Viking’-style horns and a Norwegian flag on their heads appear performing the famous celebration. As one clicks the party-pop icon repeatedly, the sound of drums that precedes the collective shout of ‘Ro!’ is played.
Haaland and Norway continue to make their presence felt in mainstream popular culture during the ongoing tournament.
Haaland surprised fans by releasing a remix of his old, viral rap song titled ‘Kygo jo’ with Norwegian DJ and music producer Kygo.
Before Haaland became a goal-scoring juggernaut known for his Bundesliga and Premier League exploits for Borussia Dortmund and Manchester City, the Norway striker enjoyed a short stint as a rapper with his fellow national team under-17 teammates Erik Botheim and Erik Tobias Sandberg, creating a collective named ‘Flow Kingz’.
Back in 2016, when a teenage Haaland was representing a club named Bryne in Norway, the trio released a song title ‘Kygo jo’. Now, with Norway making their FIFA World Cup entry after 28 years and Haaland having smashed seven goals in his side’s run so far, the song has found its way on social media’s viral charts and has 8.9 million views on YouTube.
In his first interview with Manchester City after signing his deal with the English football giants back in 2022, Haaland had said about his rap group, as quoted by Goal.com, “It is a group of three. One guy – Erik Botheim – and Erik Tobias as well, we are good friends. We were a bit bored, so we decided to make a rap song!”
Previously, Kygo, a DJ who has worked with and remixed tracks for top artists like Ed Sheeran, Selena Gomez, Ellie Goulding and Imagine Dragons, had teased the release of the song’s remix if Norway beat Brazil in their round of 16 clash. After Haaland starred in his side’s 2-1 win with a brace, taking them to the FIFA World Cup quarterfinals, Kygo has finally released the song to mark the historic moment.
Haaland posted a song on his Instagram, captioned, “Made it moment! Thanks, @kygomusic. Does this mean I’m officially an artist now?
https://www.instagram.com/p/Dai1BBfFGi4
Norway will now take on England in their quarterfinal clash on July 12, 2:30 AM IST at Miami. The clash will witness Haaland battling the talismanic England skipper Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham.
During the match against Brazil, Haaland’s tally 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, 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)
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