Erling Haaland on breaking down in tears after Norwayโs 2โ1 extra-time defeat to England in the FIFA World Cup.
๐ฃ๏ธ โThose tears werenโt 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 donโt 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.โ
โPeople will see me crying and call it weakness. Let them. I call it love. If losing for your country doesnโt break your heart, then football doesnโt mean enough to you. I would rather cry after giving everything than smile knowing I could have done more.โ
โI looked around that dressing room and saw teammates devastated. Some couldnโt speak. Some were staring at the floor. Others were crying just like I was. Thatโs when it truly hit me. Our dream was over. All the sacrifices, all the hard work, all the beliefโฆ gone in a single night.โ
โTo every Norway supporter, Iโm sorry we couldnโt 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.โ
โEngland were better when it mattered most, and they deserve credit. But donโt 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, Iโll remember this night and the tears that came with it.โ
โThis isnโt goodbye to our dream. Itโs 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, Iโll carry this pain with me every single day.โ