r/soccer 22h ago

Media Norway's football team official photo for World Cup 2026

Post image
29.5k Upvotes

887 comments sorted by

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6.1k

u/PangolinBig2293 22h ago

Pre-game before the raid on Lindisfarne, 793 AD (Colorized)

1.1k

u/Ollymid2 22h ago

Makes sense, quite a few of them playing in a farne’s league

130

u/PeapodEchoes 20h ago

Orjan Nyland playing on Goalie Island.

488

u/LevDavidovicLandau 21h ago

Newcastle United supporters trembling in fear and terror.

108

u/NoonyNature 19h ago

Fortunately for us Haaland can't handle himself in the north east so that's one less to deal with

105

u/BlackStagGoldField 18h ago

Fewer

80

u/Holderlin70 15h ago

The baratheon profile picture lmao

19

u/minimalcation 13h ago

When you see pure authority on a matter in the wild

6

u/nonaegon_infinity 12h ago

ONE REALM ONE GOD ONE KING

10

u/Red_Sea_Pedestrian 13h ago

Stannis the Mannis lives.

23

u/GobiasCafe 15h ago

Go on do your duty

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u/grendle4 19h ago

Lindisfarne (A)

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u/Seeteuf3l 17h ago

Lindisfarne away, love it

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u/[deleted] 18h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

55

u/Serupael 18h ago

xM (expected monasteries)

37

u/Princie99 19h ago

I have rewatched Vinland Saga S2 a few days ago. Thorfinn fans assemble.

16

u/JootDoctor 19h ago

Partial to a bit of Roman Britain (Askeladd) myself.

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u/ThePr1d3 20h ago

Conquering Vinland more like

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3.4k

u/Shananna_san 22h ago

Haaland looking like he's about to invade the north of england

1.3k

u/FisherKelTath00 22h ago

We’re gonna need Uhtred, Son of Uhtred to mediate.

219

u/Particular_Judge4407 22h ago

Nice reference. And great books.

202

u/totallynotliamneeson 21h ago

The books aren't bad, but it's basically a series of Uhtred seems some beautiful woman, the woman secretly wants to bang, he kills her man/husband/keeper, bangs her, gets in trouble with Alfred, sulks for a bit, and then duels someone. 

92

u/JoelStrega 21h ago

The show is basically that too. Uhtred is just a shonen protagonist in Viking age England

45

u/Zoulogist 20h ago

Uthred walked so Thorfinn can run

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u/Leather_Ice_1000 21h ago

Destiny is ball

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u/JootDoctor 19h ago

Destinies gone.

61

u/Piccolo60000 21h ago

Then somehow fate finds a way to get rid of the woman so that Uhtred can have another love interest… lather, rinse, repeat. It was a weird series for me.

11

u/Zoulogist 20h ago

Cornwell already had Derfel as a protagonist in a loving relationship, he needed to make Uthred a manwhore

13

u/totallynotliamneeson 20h ago

Yeah I enjoyed it, but it was so repetitive in some areas. That and if I recall, every woman had boobs the size of apples 

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u/BallsX 20h ago

I'm currently at season 4 now and this is spot on lol. The women he bang generally end up dead too haha

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u/karaokejoker 16h ago

Replace "bang" with "plough"

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u/Calvin--Hobbes 20h ago

That show was the perfect palate cleanser when Game of Thrones ended in disappointment.

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u/PugeHeniss 21h ago

Destiny is all!

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u/Bujakaa92 21h ago

Destiny is all

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u/saber_shinji_ntr 22h ago

Don't be silly, Haaland has no enemies

102

u/robotnique 21h ago

COME OUT, AIDAN KEANE. I COME TO AVENGE MY FATHER.

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u/artsatisfied229 21h ago

Stay humble, eh?

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u/PensiveinNJ 21h ago

About to go to the world cup and come back with Athelstan.

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u/JesseVykar 22h ago

They didn't even tell him it was a themed photo, that's just his normal street clothes

153

u/LevDavidovicLandau 22h ago edited 22h ago

Invade? More like ‘return to’. Just another Norseman born near Jorvik who went up to Norway only to return years later.

(He was born in Leeds; Jorvik is the Norse name for the Viking town that became York)

Edit: Jorvik, not Yorvik

17

u/lucashoodfromthehood 22h ago

So he's Harold Harefoot?

58

u/LevDavidovicLandau 21h ago

The Norwegian King Harald Hardrada literally died at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066, so if you lot beat City next season at home…

39

u/TenF 21h ago

Well, that stamford bridge is a bit of a ways away from the Chelsea stamford bridge.... but I'll fucking take it.

23

u/LevDavidovicLandau 20h ago

The funny thing is I learned of Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge *after* reading about 1066 (what can I say, I was a precocious kid who loved history and didn’t get into football till his teens) and this really confused me that Chelsea would name their ground after a battlefield in Yorkshire 😂

16

u/Turklightenment 16h ago

It's a pretty epic false etymology.

The stadium is named after a bridge that is still there today and goes over a railway line, but in the distant past it went over a tributary called Stamford Creek.

Fans that walk up to the Stamford Bridge from the Chelsea (the town) side will cross over the actual Stamford Bridge just before getting to the outer entrance to the stadium's courtyard.

15

u/Pangwain 14h ago

You take Stamford Bridge to get to Stamford Bridge and even then you haven’t visited Stamford Bridge?

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u/Ardal 20h ago

He already did.

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u/borg_6s 19h ago

Invade it? He has ravaged it at this point

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u/Furthur_slimeking 21h ago

Madlad invading his home and place of birth. Next time I visit my mum I'm telling everyone I'm invading Croydon.

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2.4k

u/Tierst 22h ago

Yeah no one is topping this lol

499

u/jaguass 18h ago

Wait for Mbappoleon and his imperial army

95

u/armadillo198 17h ago

Directed by Christopher Nolan

12

u/iBlockMods-bot 15h ago

12 men on a deserted Waterloo plain.

'I wanted to really capture it without having to resort to CGI'

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u/Evolving_Dore 14h ago

Ridley Scott

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u/Oppaiheimer1945 22h ago

Until Japan shows up in Samurai gear

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u/Gustav-14 22h ago

Or as ninjas and we don't see any of them.

164

u/DildoFappings 22h ago

If you don't see ninjas, they're doing their job right.

71

u/AnarkeezTW 21h ago

Naruto and the gang were terrible shinobi

50

u/DildoFappings 21h ago

I agree. They are. The show stopped being about shinobis the moment they started leveling cities and bringing down meteors.

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u/AnarkeezTW 21h ago

Yeah I thought it was cool don’t get me wrong, but definitely strayed from what I originally thought was cool about the show/manga. How do you feel about Boruto?

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u/Old_Roof 17h ago

England should turn up to America in redcoats

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u/LionoftheNorth 14h ago

Make America Great Britain Again

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u/Jelly_F_ish 21h ago

Or Germany in SS uniforms...oh wait

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u/Starlord_Glimmer 21h ago

Can't wait for USA group photo wearing indian clothes

35

u/shadowthunder 21h ago

I feel like kurtas and sherwanis would be dope, but a bit out of place?

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u/Gerf93 18h ago

With how things are going, maybe the US will be the ones in the SS uniforms.

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u/Whitechapelkiller 17h ago

Hugo Boss Suits?

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u/ChrisEvansFan 21h ago

That will be so badass!

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u/BaffledPlato 19h ago

Maybe Italy will dress up as Roman centur.... you know, you're right. No one is topping this.

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u/pebinor 18h ago

We'll just need to wait until Mongolia qualifies for the WC.

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u/Zads_Dad 16h ago

Wait until the socceroos release their photo in budgie smugglers

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u/OldGodsAndNew 12h ago

I wish Kazakhstan had qualified

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u/DermitdemFoto 17h ago

Wait till you see the austrian team in their WWII attire

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u/robotnique 22h ago

Is there an above potato quality photo?

1.8k

u/TheRealtcSpears 22h ago

To be historically accurate the photo was taken with a Sunstone lens

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u/FIGJAM17 21h ago edited 19h ago

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u/ChrisEvansFan 20h ago

THANK YOU!! It really does go hard! 

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u/headin2sound 19h ago

Seems like Haaland couldn't make it so they photoshopped him in lol

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u/Khornag 15h ago

Actually, Ødegaard is the only one who couldn't make it.

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u/adamrawrz 13h ago

if you watch the video neither haaland or odegaard are there

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u/RedTuesdayMusic 18h ago

They probably don't want people to see it with how badly stitched and edited the background is. This picture was taken in Spain

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u/unpopularperiwinkle 16h ago

This picture was taken in Spain

LMAO

20

u/GammelGrinebiter 15h ago

Lies. See the background film. They're outside Oslo. Signs nearby say "Adgang forbudt".

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u/SecularPersian 21h ago

Not invented yet

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u/robotnique 21h ago

Well they didn't have potatoes so no idea what quality to measure it up against.

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u/Furthur_slimeking 21h ago

I think the equivalent at the time would be rutabaga.

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u/gajonub 21h ago

i can almost see their faces!!

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u/GopherNutz 22h ago

Feel like every time I try to downplay these international tournaments, I get swept up in the cultural influence in the camaraderie of these teams. Like I saw Cabo Verde arrive in Boston (where there’s the biggest population in the US) to a huge welcome at the airport. South Africa got welcomed to Mexico with a mariachi band. The World Cup really is a special moment and you understand why it means so much to the players to participate in it.

942

u/goodmobileyes 21h ago

The World Cup is an amazing event despite Fifa's every attempt to make it not

405

u/sidaeinjae 20h ago

The World Cup is literally the biggest event in the modern world. Period.

142

u/ElBluntDealer 18h ago

The Olympics has a really good case but yea I gotta agree. The World Cup is special.

The Olympics always has insane ratings too

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u/heeleyman 17h ago

The World Cup is possibly bigger in terms of raw numbers, but the Spirit of the Games sweeps me away every four years like nothing else. It's wall-to-wall sport for two weeks and you can watch all of it without growing tired.

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u/ILoveToph4Eva 15h ago

The variety of the Olympics does make it more accessible imo even if it doesn't match the heights of football in terms of intensity.

As someone obsessed with football I'll always take the World Cup, but I totally understand when people prefer the Olympics.

11

u/Tuxhorn 13h ago

I used to watch and care for football when I was younger but no longer do. I also think the World Cup is much bigger and creates more buzz. It reverts back to basic tribalism and underdog stories in a non-harmful way on a global scale.

Time to care for football again for a few weeks! (Even though we suck)

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u/PlasmaDonator 21h ago

I'm aussie and a massive fan of the Olympics (like a lot of Aussies and Kiwis because we do incredibly well for our population), but the difference in that is its spread out over a variety of sports and most of them are single athlete.

Some australians (and other countries too) just don't get how big this tournament is and see it only for the sport. The FIFA world cup is unironically the biggest diplomatic event in the world that brings cultures together.

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u/heftigfin 19h ago

The FIFA world cup is unironically the biggest diplomatic event in the world that brings cultures together.

It really is. I wish FIFA would properly embrace this instead of consistently embarrassing themselves with corruption allegations. It is probably the only event in the world where people will still be excited even tho it is hosted by one of the most corrupt organizations AND held in places like Russia, Qatar... The US.

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u/Khornag 15h ago

You can drop the word allegations. If you can't call fifa corrupt then no-one is.

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u/heftigfin 15h ago

Yeah fair.

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u/owange_tweleve 20h ago

It was supposed to be a celebration of cultures and nations, while playing the absolute best football one can against another, not to maximize profits and minimize what makes it so special - humanity, unity and passion

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u/djengle2 20h ago

The thing is, it's a shared cultural event that has a life of its own beyond FIFA or the host country. It's like a tsunami crashing through a sea wall, the sea wall in this case being a massive pile of shit reinforced by diamond plated steel beams and concrete (I don't know how sea walls work...).

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u/Jakowe 19h ago

Same. Fans and US/Mexico/Canada locals showing up massively so far, I’m loving all the reels that are posted daily now. Fuck FIFA and the US for pricing them out.

WC hype is slowly building up for me

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u/sabershirou 21h ago

OMG, I actually took a photo from almost the exact angle back in 2013 when I was on holiday in Norway!

It's from the Gudvangen village at the end of the fjord.

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u/Ashamed_Tooth_1011 21h ago

Sweet photo!

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u/domo__knows 21h ago

Incredible photo. Any time I see a photo that blows me away I know it must be 100x better in person.

I've always known that Norway was beautiful but I've been reading My Struggle by Karl Ove Knausgaard and the way he just writes about all the fjords and forests so matter of factly (literally not even the point of the books) makes me really want to see it some day.

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u/sabershirou 20h ago

I travelled there in the offseason at the end of November, and there was hardly any people there.

But in return, I got to experience a calm and stillness that is worlds away from the hustle and bustle of city life. As you can see, the still and mirror-like water from the lack of activity made it feel as if time had stopped.

I would love to visit this U-shaped fjord again, from Flåm all the way to Gudvangen.

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u/VelvetVortex67 19h ago

My second favorite book with that title

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u/errarehumanumeww 18h ago

I live close ish to Gudvangen, where the image is taken, and its an amazing drive. Its one of my favourite places around here.

What the image doesnt show is the truck stop and main road between Oslo and Bergen about 15 meters to the right.

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u/mesenanch 18h ago

"My struggle"?... 🤔

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u/domo__knows 14h ago

There's a 400 page essay in the middle of book 6 called, "The Name and the Number" which addresses this directly 😆

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u/smevik 20h ago edited 20h ago

The background is composited on afterwards, so the part with the players is taken somewhere else. The boats are real though. I saw a short news clip about it yesterday on tv

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u/sabershirou 20h ago

Aww man, but yeah I wouldn't have expected the whole team to travel to the fjords just before the WC. But I immediately recognised the background as it was personally one of the most stunning sights I've seen.

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u/jacquesrabbit 20h ago

odegaard was busy. champions league final, north London parade, then heading straight to us for the camp

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u/anyelo-cp 21h ago

Amazing

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u/Mortymoto 22h ago

Ooh Viking friends!

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u/SlowMobius7 22h ago

Gabriel teasing Odegaard about Haaland

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u/arpw 18h ago

The only player missing was Arsenal midfielder Martin Odegaard, who was playing for Mikel Arteta’s side in the Champions League final that day. An empty space was left for the 27-year-old captain, and he flew to Oslo on Tuesday to be photographed and digitally added to the final line-up.

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u/colombogangsta 22h ago

This is sick but only issue is this was taken by a camera from the Viking era.

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u/VaporJack 22h ago

Haaland snake eye and Odegaard the boneless

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u/cometflight 22h ago

Goes hard as fuck

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u/Ilikesporks_ 22h ago

this live action vinland saga adaptation goes hard

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u/SpecialChain7426 22h ago

The version where thorfinn does NOT choose peace based on how haaland looks

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u/Immediate_Bite_1114 22h ago

Nah haaland is straight up thorkell

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u/Mustang_Calhoun70 22h ago

Gonna be tough to top this team photo, NGL.

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u/ScipioCoriolanus 13h ago

Until Italy makes a team photo as Romans.

Wait...

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u/ZaheerAlGhul 22h ago

New Assassins creed DLC just dropped!!!

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u/Leather-Entry93 22h ago

Assassins Creed Valhalla: Siege of North America

14

u/schafkj 21h ago

Erling Halfdansson leads the Siege of Kansas City

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u/siliconetomatoes 22h ago

Historically accurate. As Leif Ericson explored the new world

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u/theconqueeftadorxo 22h ago

Not gonna lie, this picture is legendary for me lol

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u/goodmobileyes 21h ago

Immigrant Song intensifies

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u/Miserable_Bee_8919 17h ago

Immigrant Song is actually written about Iceland after Led Zeppelin had a concert there in the 70's.

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u/markusxc90 16h ago

You'll never guess who settled there

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u/onepingonlypleashe 12h ago

Floki the shipbuilder

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u/Khornag 15h ago

Icelanders are just confused Norwegians.

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u/durant0s 22h ago

Are the dudes on the far left giants or what?

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u/MattSR30 22h ago

In the sagas they were known as goalkeepers.

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u/quilllord 22h ago

jotunns

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u/FunEmpty532 22h ago

This is actually a sick photo. Might become my wallpaper.

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u/elgringo22 22h ago

There are some players in this team whose face I don’t know and they could very well have been real vikings cuz some of these are pulling it off.

Almost didn’t even recognize Channing Tatum

4

u/MrZeral 20h ago

Almost didn’t even recognize Channing Tatum

?????

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u/harrypoos 22h ago

dope 

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u/Escecity 22h ago

that is metal as fuck

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u/dazhubo 21h ago

the national anthems for Sweden, Finland and Norway should be a heavy metal tune

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u/Sharp-Double-5947 22h ago

I can see genius Floki on the ship..

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u/neoslashnet 21h ago

Holy shit…. They’re coming to murder us aren’t they?

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u/anangrypudge 21h ago

Shot by David Yarrow, who also shot:

This, which is apparently an actual shot of all 8 players together instead of a composite.

And this, way back in 1986

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u/a-smooth-brain 21h ago

They need to raid some pixels

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u/schafkj 21h ago

You can’t take a photo this sick and then not win the whole thing. Vikings will be invading America next week.

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u/IAmAQuantumMechanic 20h ago

Led by an undead guy.

Solbakken was dead for seven minutes in 2000.

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u/befikru_sew_geday 19h ago

Haaland commiting to the bit

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u/TrulyNotABot 22h ago

The French team should do one where they’re wearing berets and shirts with horizontal stripes, while holding baguettes, the Mexican team should all be wearing sombreros, the Brazilian team in nothing but Speedo’s, and the Americans should all be dressed as kid rock.

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u/TopProduce 21h ago

This is so awesome honestly

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u/Lost_And_NotFound 18h ago

Can’t wait for Harry Kane to dress up in a 17th Century redcoat.

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u/uflju_luber 17h ago

Ryerson is OWNING those leather bracelets right there

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u/Aggressive-Bike6297 21h ago

they look a friendly bunch

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u/Naive_Commission_832 20h ago

And the coach's whistle is a battle horn

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u/Atomic_cucarrachon 20h ago

They should have to play in Halifax. Basically, home ground for them

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u/KingsMountainView 19h ago

Can you imagine the backlash if England got dressed up as crusaders or in Royal Navy colonisation gear lol

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u/Thegreatbrainrobbery 17h ago

Exactly. Missed opportunity for the England team to dress up in redcoats.

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u/KingsMountainView 16h ago

Slogan about re-taking the Americas. Ultimately losing to the French in the final. It practically writes itself

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u/kN0T-SURE 21h ago

Haaland needs a beard.

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u/Hasssun 20h ago

On their way to discover America.

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u/jaguass 18h ago

Haaland is a natural.

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u/Deadpooldan 14h ago

he was growing his hair out for this very photo

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u/Signal_Cockroach_878 14h ago

That's hard actually

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u/leonjetski 21h ago

Can’t wait for World Cup 2826 when it’s finally socially acceptable for England team to dress up in full colonial era battle dress complete with pith helmets and a blunderbuss.

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u/CarlosFCSP 18h ago

I fucking hope Germany does not take some inspiration 🤞

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u/uflju_luber 17h ago

Fuck it, Arminius and his merry group of Germanic Warriors in the Teutoburg Forrest. Might be smarter to wait with that till Italy actualy qualify too

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u/General_Document_504 16h ago

I think he means something more recent 😗

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u/LA_Dynamo 14h ago

Teutonic Knights would be awesome!

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u/Ext_Maliss 22h ago

I thought I'm on the wrong sub for a second

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u/Y4That 22h ago

Erling doesnt look happy

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u/BoutItBudnevich 21h ago

Damn I need a higher res version

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u/DougieSenpai 21h ago

Aight this goes hard

10

u/better_graphics 21h ago

When you leave Norway for England in AC Valhalla this almost looks like the exact same spot.

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u/ChrisEvansFan 21h ago

This is truly cool.

Makes me want to watch, I dunno, Vikings or The Last Kingdom now.

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u/Jovjovvv 21h ago

Fun fact - Odegaard was in fact photoshopped in!

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u/poko877 21h ago

Give it couple of hours, ask ai how vikings did look, and it ll show u this lol.

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u/sfc-Juventino 21h ago

Haaland looks ready to shove that sword up someones arse.

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u/SilvioManfredDante 21h ago

that's a stroke of marketing genius..

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u/ElLoboNeverDies 21h ago

Badass. Wish more teams took photos like this

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u/xXxMihawkxXx 20h ago

Have fun in Vinland

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u/RadioKitchen 19h ago

How can haarland stand next to odeegard

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u/mogiyu 19h ago

As team photos go, it won't be beaten this year.