Haaland returns to Norway with $750 taxidermied raccoon after World Cup quarter-final exit

Erling Haaland touched down in Oslo without a World Cup winner’s medal, but the Norway striker did not come home empty-handed — footage captured him stepping off the plane with a $750 (£560) taxidermied raccoon tucked under his arm.

The novelty souvenir, listed as the “Whiskey Raccoon H-MT-F” from Wild Bill’s Western Store, shows the mounted animal posed holding a whisky bottle. It is an unusual keepsake from a tournament in which Haaland, 25, was one of the standout performers, scoring seven goals on his long-awaited World Cup debut.

Norway’s run came to an end in the quarter-finals, where they fell 2-1 to England. Despite the defeat, the squad returned to a rapturous reception in the Norwegian capital, with thousands of supporters lining the streets for an open-top bus parade — a celebration of what the country regards as its best-ever World Cup campaign.

The raccoon, predictably, drew as much attention on social media as the parade itself. Whether it was a planned purchase or an impulse buy on the way through the United States, Haaland carried it with the same composure he tends to reserve for penalty areas.