Haaland’s Viking row tribute explodes into BTS’ Dynamite at World Cup final: ‘Iconic, surreal and unbeatable’

Erling Haaland may have been knocked out of the FIFA World Cup 2026 by England in the quarterfinals. But the Norway striker has somehow continued to dominate the tournament, even from the Instagram comments section.

And during the Halftime show at the final, Haaland was very much back in the building.

Well, sort of. As part of a wonderfully bizarre tribute to Norway and its Viking spirit, the Muppets took centre stage and led the crowd in the iconic Viking clap, or “Viking row”, made famous by Iceland's fans at Euro 2016.

Yes, the Muppets were conducting a stadium full of people in a thunderous, rhythmic tribute to Norway's football team.

And then, the Viking row seamlessly transitioned into BTS performing Dynamite. The sequence was already funny enough. But for ARMY, it was an inside joke, as Jimin has long been compared to Haaland because of their famously similar long, blond hairstyles. The joke had reached such a point that ARMYs had carried posters of Haaland to BTS concerts, prompting Jimin to imitate Haaland's walk and hair flip.

So there they were, a Viking tribute for Haaland, followed by BTS, with Jimin standing on stage looking like the pop-star cousin of Norway's most recognisable striker.

And if that wasn't enough, J-Hope has previously performed the Viking clap himself, making the whole thing feel like an accidental BTS-Haaland cinematic universe.

Norway's World Cup run ended against England in the quarterfinals, but Haaland clearly left his mark. The striker has remained a fixture in the tournament's online conversation, turning up everywhere from football debates to Instagram comments.

Now he has another achievement to add to the list: being indirectly honoured by the Muppets, inspiring a Viking row and somehow becoming part of the setup for a BTS performance.