The Norwegian national team touched down at Oslo’s Gardermoen airport on Monday to a hero’s welcome, hours after a 2-1 extra-time defeat to England in Miami had ended their deepest World Cup run. An estimated 88,000 to 100,000 people lined the route from the palace to the university square, transforming the capital into a sea of red, white and blue. The crowd, one of the largest sporting gatherings in the city’s history, had come to salute a side that had not merely returned to the tournament after a 28-year absence but had fought its way into the last eight for the first time.

The journey that ignited such fervour began with a group-stage victory over Senegal and a heavy loss to France, before a seismic 2-1 win against Brazil in the round of 16, sealed by an Erling Haaland double in New Jersey. That result, viewed from across the football world as the shock of the knockout phase, set up a quarter-final against England. Andreas Schjelderup’s first-half goal raised hopes of a semi-final, but two strikes from Jude Bellingham, the second in extra time, ended the Scandinavian challenge. Norway departed the tournament with their heads high, having scored memorable victories and pushed a pre-tournament favourite to the limit.

At the palace, King Harald V received the squad in a private ceremony, thanking them for what he described as an experience that had united the nation. Crown Prince Haakon, who had travelled to Miami for the England match and visited the dressing room afterwards, then stepped outside to lead the public celebration. Seizing a drum, he set the rhythm for the “Viking row” – the synchronised oar-pulling chant that became the team’s signature during the tournament – as players and fans roared in unison from the palace steps. Norwegian broadcasters noted that the heir to the throne had practised beforehand, and his participation was met with delight by a crowd that stretched far down Karl Johans gate.

Haaland, the tournament’s joint-top scorer with seven goals in five matches, was absent from the open-air festivities. A delayed flight from the United States meant he and midfielder Sander Berge had to leave early to catch a pre-arranged connection to Sicily. The striker had already made his mark on the homecoming, stepping off the aircraft clutching a stuffed raccoon holding a whisky bottle – a souvenir he joked had “followed me home” – an image that ricocheted across social media and, according to reports in the Spanish-language press, sold out similar items at the Dallas store where it was purchased. His brief appearance at the royal reception was enough to reinforce his status as the face of a team that, in the words of captain Martin Ødegaard, had felt the whole country behind them.

The squad later boarded an open-top bus for a slow crawl through central Oslo, the procession repeatedly halted by the density of the crowd. Police described the turnout as exceptional for a sporting event. While the World Cup dream ended in the last eight, the campaign has already been enshrined as Norway’s greatest football achievement, a point underlined by the prime minister’s presence and the royal family’s full embrace. The team’s next competitive fixtures will be the UEFA Nations League, but for now the nation is still savouring a summer that rewrote its footballing story.