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South Florida is officially under a Viking advisory.
Thankfully, today’s Norwegians aren’t arriving to pillage villages or sail longships into Biscayne Bay. They’re here to cheer on their national team as Norway takes on England in one of the most anticipated quarter-finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Still, overprotective Miami boyfriends and fish lovers may want to stay on high alert, because thousands of charming, athletic, seafood-obsessed Scandinavians have officially descended on the Magic City.
As fans flood Miami ahead of Saturday afternoon’s match at Hard Rock Stadium, Team Norway has arrived with more than chants and Viking spirit. The squad also packed longtime national team chef Aaron Espeland and more than 600 pounds of salmon from Norway to fuel players throughout the tournament.
After five World Cup matches featuring South American teams, South Florida now gets an all-European showdown as Norway faces England. The quarter-final also features two of the tournament’s hottest strikers: Norwegian superstar Erling Haaland and England captain Harry Kane. Haaland enters the match with seven goals, while Kane has six. France’s Kylian Mbappé and Argentina’s Lionel Messi currently lead the Golden Boot race with eight goals apiece.
Why did Norway pack 600 pounds of salmon?
Now, Miami fish lovers will likely be safe from seeing the viral, towering Erling Haaland at local fish markets, because the team brought more than 600 pounds of salmon to the U.S. for its monthlong stay, Espeland told New Times in a statement. But there are still thousands of Norwegian supporters to contend with at grocery stores, so go ahead and make your salmon runs to Miami Fresh Fish Market on 41st Street, Fresh Florida Fisheries on S. Miami Avenue, or Krudo Fish Market on W. Dixie Highway in Miami Beach.
On Saturday morning, a giant banner featuring Haaland flew behind a plane over Miami for several hours as part of a promotional campaign by the Norwegian Seafood Council.
“To encourage meat-loving Americans to replace some of their protein with seafood, preferably Norwegian seafood, Haaland is a fantastic ambassador for us,” Karine Rød Haraldsson, the Norwegian Seafood Council’s director in the United States, said in a statement. “He is a superstar and has fronted several of our campaigns in the United States. By letting his image soar over Miami, we are quite literally taking our partnership to new heights.”
A World Cup menu built for performance
Haraldsson says interest in the team’s seafood-heavy diet has surged since news broke that the squad brought more than 600 pounds of salmon from Norway to the United States. “It is clear that many people are curious about the Norwegian players’ diet,” she said. “The news that the national team’s chefs brought seafood from Norway to the United States has really taken off.”
“People often ask why we brought Salmon from Norway all the way to the United States. It was about consistency,” Espeland said in a statement to New Times. “Our players know the quality, taste, and versatility of the product, and that familiarity allows us to prepare meals with confidence every day. At this level, every meal has a purpose, and Salmon from Norway is an important part of helping our players prepare, perform, and recover.”
Using salmon allows chefs to prepare a wide variety of dishes for players, including smoked salmon and cucumber for breakfast and pairing the fish with pasta or rice for lunches and dinners, according to the chef.
“Salmon from Norway appears on our menu throughout the tournament because it’s an ingredient that fits naturally into a performance-focused kitchen,” he said. “Whether we’re preparing a pre-match dinner or a recovery meal, it allows us to serve dishes the players look forward to eating while they’re away from home.”
