Norway’s squad photo is the World Cup image everyone is talking about
Norway are heading to the World Cup for the first time in nearly three decades, and their send-off is every bit as dramatic as the wait.
Norway’s national team has marked its first World Cup appearance since 1998 with a Viking-themed squad portrait, while supporters have unveiled a rowing routine to bring the same spirit to the stands.
Rather than AI-ing it, they did it for real: crew, costumes, lights, make-up and Norway’s own landscape.
The result feels rooted in place and identity – a crafted celebration of Norwegian heritage.
Commissioned by the Norwegian football association, the image, titled The Vikings are coming, was shot by British photographer David Yarrow in front of one of Norway’s fjords.
The full 26-man squad appears in authentic Viking dress, with shields, weapons and boats replacing the familiar airport-steps team photo.
The idea followed Yarrow’s 2023 portrait of Erling Haaland in Viking dress, waist-deep in an Oslo fjord. For the new image, however, Yarrow wanted the focus to be collective rather than centred on Norway’s biggest names.
“It was not seen to be Haaland and Odegaard and 24 others – it was important to foster a sense of team,” he said.
The theme is already being picked up by supporters.
Norway fans revealed a Viking-style rowing routine during Monday’s 3-1 win over Sweden, moving in unison to a drumbeat in a display that recalls both longships and Iceland’s thunderclap.
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With Norway drawn against Senegal, Iraq and France in Group I, the team’s long-awaited World Cup return now has both a defining image and a crowd ritual.
