🐶 today, let's not touch our phones and go straight to sleep soon. we always touch our phones so we keep on getting addicted [on doomscrolling] that we can't get ourselves together! it doesn't even help
🐶 the reason why i'm nagging is because i'm bad at it these days too! so right now, at this time, i'll freely enjoy my time until i decide to stop and then i'll turn [my phone] off right away and close my eyes
🐶 and then when i can't sleep i'll open my phone, scroll, then be awake again. that cannot happen
Alf-Inge Haaland on speaking to Erling Haaland after Norway’s World Cup elimination to England.
🗣️ “I walked into the dressing room and saw my son sitting there in complete silence, tears streaming down his face. He tried so hard to hide them, but he couldn’t. His heart was shattered. I put my hand on his shoulder, looked him in the eyes and said, ‘Erling, don’t you dare apologise. Don’t carry this pain alone. You gave your country every drop of your heart, every ounce of your strength, and every breath you had.’ Seeing your own son broken like that is one of the hardest things a father can experience.”
”‘People only celebrate the goals and the trophies. They never see the sacrifices, the endless pressure, the sleepless nights, the injuries, the doubts, and the emotional burden of carrying an entire nation’s dreams. Erling wasn’t crying because he lost a football match. He was crying because his dream of making millions of Norwegians proud had slipped through his fingers. Those weren’t tears of weakness they were tears of love, pride and heartbreak.”
“I told him, ‘Lift your head, son. There is no shame in crying after giving absolutely everything. Real warriors cry because they care. Real leaders cry because they feel the pain of letting people down, even when they haven’t. Never let anyone tell you those tears make you weak they prove how much this country means to you.’”
“And to the people already searching for someone to blame… shame on you. Before you criticise these players, remember the joy they gave this nation. Remember how they made children dream again. Don’t destroy them in one night because football can be cruel. Every player in that dressing room is hurting far more than any supporter watching from the stands.”
“As his father, I couldn’t have been prouder tonight if he had scored a hat-trick and lifted the World Cup. I didn’t see a global superstar—I saw my little boy wearing Norway’s shirt, refusing to give up until the very last second. That’s what filled my heart with pride. Medals and trophies fade with time, but courage, sacrifice and love for your country stay with you forever.”
“These tears will never define Erling Haaland. They will shape him. One day, when people look back on his career, they won’t remember him crying—they’ll remember the man who stood back up after the deepest heartbreak and fought even harder. Tonight, Norway lost a football match, but they gained something even greater: a generation inspired by players who gave everything for the badge. Sometimes football breaks your heart… but it’s that heartbreak that creates legends.”
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.”