ekhwanders

Erling Haaland on breaking down in tears after Norway’s 2–1 extra-time defeat to England in the FIFA World Cup. 🗣️ “Those tears weren’t because I missed out on a semi-final. They came because I felt like I had let an entire nation down. When you wear the Norway shirt, you don’t just play for yourself you play for every child dreaming in the streets, every family watching from home, and every supporter who believed in us. That weight is impossible to describe.” “People will see me crying and call it weakness. Let them. I call it love. If losing for your country doesn’t break your heart, then football doesn’t mean enough to you. I would rather cry after giving everything than smile knowing I could have done more.” “I looked around that dressing room and saw teammates devastated. Some couldn’t speak. Some were staring at the floor. Others were crying just like I was. That’s when it truly hit me. Our dream was over. All the sacrifices, all the hard work, all the belief… gone in a single night.” “To every Norway supporter, I’m sorry we couldn’t give you one more match. You deserved to see us in the semi-finals. You stood by us from the first minute of this tournament until the last, and hearing you sing even after the final whistle made the pain even harder to take. We heard you. We felt your love.” “England were better when it mattered most, and they deserve credit. But don’t think this defeat will break us. It will stay with me for the rest of my life. Every time I train, every time I score, every time I wear this badge again, I’ll remember this night and the tears that came with it.” “This isn’t goodbye to our dream. It’s a painful chapter in our story. Right now my heart is broken, and nothing can change that. But I promise the people of Norway one thing we will get back up. We will fight again. And one day, these tears will be replaced by tears of joy. Until then, I’ll carry this pain with me every single day.”