The Man Who Invented the Viking Clap Has a Warning for Brazil: "If There's Ever a Moment to Beat You, It's Now"
Ole Frøystad, the Norwegian teacher who created the Viking clap, offered advice to Brazilian fans and made a bold prediction about Sunday's clash.
He is a primary-school teacher in Oslo, has never played professional football, and has no players in the family. Yet Ole Frøystad may be the most influential supporter at this World Cup — and he has already sent his message: Norway is coming for Brazil.
"If there is ever a moment to beat Brazil, it is now," Frøystad told ge. "The fans and the team are very much in sync at this moment."
The teacher is the creator of the Viking clap, the choreography that has gone global since Norway opened the tournament with a 4–1 thrashing of Iraq. Since then, the celebration has swept through escalators in Boston, the floor of the Norwegian Parliament — where suited MPs sat on the ground to row — and even the Instagram stories of Sheila Mello and Luísa Sonza. Frøystad has gained more than 60,000 followers and delayed his return home to experience the World Cup up close.
The idea was born from a Rosenborg chant, the Norwegian club whose name is broken into three syllables on the terraces. "I realised that 'RO' meant 'row' and had a cool movement to it," he explained. The rest is history — or rather, it went viral.
For the Brazilians who will pack MetLife Stadium in New Jersey this Sunday, Mr Row Row has one piece of advice: "Do something that is Brazilian, something you are all proud of. Keep it simple and make sure as many people as possible can join in."
Generous with the opposing fans, ruthless with his prediction. Golmetria's model gives Brazil a 61.6% chance of reaching the quarter-finals — but Haaland's Norway, the tournament's joint second-top scorer with five goals, did not come this far to play a supporting role.
Brazil and Norway meet this Sunday at 17:00 (Brasília time) in the round of sixteen. On the other side of the stands, a legion of rowers will be ready to make some noise. The question is: will the Seleção silence the Vikings — or end up rowing alongside them on the way out?