Norway’s biggest star, Erling Haaland, posted an emotional message to fans on social media following his side’s dramatic extra-time defeat in the quarter-finals.
“It was a truly wonderful journey. Thank you all for making it so special,” Haaland wrote on his official X account.
The post went viral almost instantly. At the time of writing, it had been viewed 6.6 million times and received 7,500 comments, 39,000 retweets and 502,000 likes.
Despite Norway’s quarter-final exit, Haaland was in sensational form throughout this year’s World Cup. The 25-year-old striker finished third in the tournament’s scoring charts behind Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé, having scored seven goals in five matches.
Haaland had stunned the football world with a last-minute brace against Brazil in the round of 16, sending the five-time world champions crashing out of the tournament before the quarter-finals for the first time since 1990, while Norway advanced to the last eight for the first time in the country’s World Cup history.
