There are sporting homecomings and there are sporting homecomings where the striker who scored seven goals in four World Cup matches disembarks from the plane with a taxidermied raccoon under his arm, which is the specific image that Norway’s World Cup return to Oslo produced on Monday, and which no one at the homecoming parade had anticipated needing to account for in their planning.
Norway’s squad arrived home Monday following their quarterfinal elimination by England, who beat them 2-1 after extra time at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, thanks to two Jude Bellingham goals and a missed Haaland chance that Norwegian supporters continue to process. Massive crowds filled the grounds of the Royal Palace in central Oslo on Monday afternoon, with an unofficial turnout estimated at more than 100,000 people, per HuffPost’s live blog, making it one of the largest public gatherings in Oslo’s recent history for an event that Norway did not win. The Norwegian football federation describes reaching the World Cup quarterfinal as their best tournament result in decades, which is accurate and which is also true of most countries’ World Cup quarterfinal runs, since most countries have not won the World Cup.
The squad attended an audience with King Harald before the parade, which is the constitutional formality that precedes Oslo street celebrations involving more than 100,000 citizens and one taxidermied raccoon. Haaland, who is 25 years old, plays for Manchester City, and scored seven goals in four matches including twice against Brazil in a performance that produced the Viking row celebration that went viral across six continents, was photographed carrying what appeared to be a taxidermied raccoon under his arm as he came down the steps of the plane. The Norway squad’s homecoming convoy then moved through the palace grounds. Haaland was “noticeably absent from the final stage of the celebrations, having left early,” per HuffPost, which is the sentence that describes the world’s most identifiable footballer walking away from his own homecoming parade carrying a stuffed animal, which is the kind of detail that makes sports coverage worth doing.
The raccoon has not been identified by name, species confirmation, or origin story. Haaland has not explained it. The 100,000 people outside the Royal Palace presumably saw it on the television coverage and are still thinking about it.
When the striker who scores seven goals in four World Cup matches comes home to 100,000 people and leaves his own parade early while carrying a taxidermied raccoon, what exactly is the raccoon?
Sources
HuffPost: 2026 FIFA World Cup Live Updates
GB News: King Harald’s meeting with Erling Haaland and Norway squad delayed
