<\/p>\n
\n ![\"Mortgage](\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAADCAQAAAAe\/WZNAAAAEElEQVR42mM8U88ABowYDABAxQPltt5zqAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==\")
\n <\/a><\/p>\n
She said: “In England we’re almost used to getting through the early stages, so the excitement doesn’t really build until the semifinals.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
(Photo by Gu Bra via Pexels)<\/p>\n
By Talker<\/p>\n
“Here, every single win has brought people together. It feels like it means so much more because they’ve gone so much further than anyone expected.”<\/p>\n
She watched Norway’s defeat to France in central Oslo and says the mood across the city immediately changed.<\/p>\n
She added: “Everyone was genuinely disappointed. Then I watched the Brazil game outside City Hall when Norway won and it was unbelievable. There were thousands of people celebrating together.”<\/p>\n
For Emma, it’s the sense of community that has stood out most.<\/p>\n
She said: “Norwegians usually keep themselves to themselves, but after the victories everyone was talking to strangers, standing on balconies cheering and celebrating together.<\/p>\n
“It feels really community-driven. Everyone is just enjoying the moment together.<\/p>\n
“In England the celebrations can sometimes get a bit rowdy. Here it’s been much more about everyone coming together.<\/p>\n
“It’s been amazing to witness. Being here has shown me what this tournament has meant to Norway, and a small part of me doesn’t want that feeling to end.”<\/p>\n
Despite his wife’s growing affection for Norway, James has no doubts about where his loyalties lie.<\/p>\n
James said: “I’m from England so I support England. I have my flag outside the house.<\/p>\n
“It’s where I’m from. There’s definitely an affection for Norway because we’ve built our life here, but England is who I am and who I’ll always support.”<\/p>\n
The friendly rivalry has become part of the fun in the Wallond household, with both determined to enjoy the occasion whatever the result.<\/p>\n
James said: “We’ll definitely be cheering against each other.<\/p>\n
“If England lose, I’ve already got my Norway hat ready and it’ll be straight on.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(Photo by Vitalii Abakumov via Pexels) By Lula White A footy-mad couple say Saturday’s World Cup match will…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":127424,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[85],"tags":[3966,3922,62003,157,156],"class_list":["post-127423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oslo","tag-england","tag-fireworks","tag-lula-white","tag-norway","tag-oslo"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@dk\/116898968708024929","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127423"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127423\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/127424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}