{"id":3696,"date":"2026-06-27T10:03:23","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T10:03:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3696"},"modified":"2026-06-27T10:03:23","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T10:03:23","slug":"diminished-star-power-does-little-to-take-shine-off-world-cup-fans-fun-in-foxborough-for-france-norway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3696","title":{"rendered":"Diminished star power does little to take shine off World Cup fans\u2019 fun in Foxborough for France-Norway"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

FOXBOROUGH \u2014 This was the one to attend. France vs. Norway was billed as the best game of the 2026 World Cup group stage: a tournament favorite against a formidable underdog, both with world-class strikers leading the way. <\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Ranking the World Cup group games in Foxborough, from worst to best<\/a><\/p>\n

And as fans filed into the stadium for the 3 p.m. kickoff, word leaked that Norway was resting all but one of its starting 11 for Friday\u2019s pre-knockout round finale. Coach St\u00e5le Solbakken, already qualified for the Round of 32, was prioritizing player health. <\/span><\/p>\n

While French star Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 flew around as usual in his team\u2019s 4-1 win, Norwegian counterpart Erling Haaland watched from the bench, along with running mate Martin \u00d8degaard. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

For fans who hoped to see the latter two give the Vikings a chance at an upset, it took some of the shine off the day. <\/span><\/p>\n

But not too much.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before noon, hundreds crowded outside the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Boston, waiting for a glimpse of the French before they boarded their bus. Perhaps a few of them wound up among the 64,146 at don\u2019t-call-it-Gillette Stadium. <\/span><\/p>\n

Some businesses along Route 1 were charging $80 for parking. Others were filling up their lots for $40 a pop. At Route One Wine & Spirits across from the stadium, a group of French fans were playing roadside beer pong as jersey-clad fans marched by in small groups.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ticket prices on the secondary market were upwards of $2,000 two hours before kickoff. An hour before, there was nothing available online. <\/span><\/p>\n

Asked how much he paid, Scott Davis of Easton said, \u201c$1,475.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s lying,\u201d said his friend, Tony Marcella of Medway, as they climbed the ramp to their 300-level seats, beers in tow. \u201cIt was $340. We got them in a raffle.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Related: <\/span><\/span>More World Cup coverage<\/div>\n

They were two American fans of the Premier League, there to support the underdog. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNorway, 3-1. Haaland with two goals, Mbapp\u00e9 with one,\u201d Davis said. \u201cThey\u2019ll bring him back in. Off the record \u2014 no, they won\u2019t. It\u2019s just hopeful thinking.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Regardless, they were getting their money\u2019s worth. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m hanging out with my best friend,\u201d Davis said. \u201cLet\u2019s hang out and be best friends? Sounds great. We had a world-record rock-paper-scissors tournament in the parking lot.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Davis, a two-time contestant on the show \u201cNaked and Afraid\u201d \u2014 \u201ca totally D-list celebrity\u201d \u2014 had his face covered in Norway colors. But before kickoff, the paint was smudged all over, giving him the appearance of a pro wrestler fresh from a title match. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI have so much in my eyes I can\u2019t see,\u201d Davis said. \u201cI honestly can\u2019t see a thing.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Five things to know about new Bruins forward JJ Peterka<\/a><\/p>\n

Simon St\u00f8len, of Virginia Beach, Va., said he is \u201cNorwegian by birth, Norwegian by heart.\u201d He was also Norwegian by headgear (Viking helmet) and by drinking vessel (horn). He saw the logic in the coaching decision. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI do wish we\u2019d win this game, because it would make us play Sweden,\u201d he added. \u201cAnd we hate Sweden.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Related: <\/span><\/span>\u2018A smoldering volcano\u2019: French soccer fans bring a quiet intensity to Boston\u2019s World Cup scene<\/div>\n

How much did he pay to experience Norway\u2019s first World Cup run since 1998? <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWay too [expletive] much, but it\u2019s [expletive] worth it,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s so worth it! It\u2019s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Twenty-eight [expletive] years! Look at this [expletive] stadium.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

He then fell silent as France took control, and Ousmane Demb\u00e9l\u00e9 scored the opening goal. <\/span><\/p>\n

That pleased French fan Alex Oillic, of Montreal. He paid $227 for tickets months ago, but was not disappointed to see Norway rest its best. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo, because it\u2019s a good game, good weather, good atmosphere, good fans,\u201d said Oillic, who arrived with two family members from France. \u201cA good moment.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Demb\u00e9l\u00e9 scored again, then sent in a left-footed curler for the first-half hat trick. The Norwegian fans lifted their horns, faithfully did their rowing, and pressed on. Some were still hoping Haaland would make an appearance. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think he\u2019s coming in, second half,\u201d said Tampa native Morgan Ulvenes, who was here for a family trip and paid, \u201c$800 for nosebleeds.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

She showed her family\u2019s heritage with temporary Norwegian flag tattoos on her face. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s got the golden boot race,\u201d she said of Haaland. \u201cHe\u2019s going to come in, score a couple goals, and they\u2019re going to win \u2026 3-1 is the worst lead in all of sports.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The comeback fell short. Afterward, Solbakken said it was a \u201cno-brainer\u201d to rest his starters after a grueling match Monday against Senegal, but he admitted he felt for the fans. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey wanted to see Erling, they wanted to see Martin,\u201d Solbakken said. \u201cThat\u2019s the only reason you can feel something (bad) about the way we lined up today. Hopefully, we can give them some good summer nights in the next (few) weeks.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Red Sox place Marcelo Mayer on injured list with stress reaction in his forearm<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For fans who hoped to see Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard give the Vikings a chance at an upset, the resting players took some of the shine off the day. But not too much.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3695,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"\nDiminished star power does little to take shine off World Cup fans\u2019 fun in Foxborough for France-Norway - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3696\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Diminished star power does little to take shine off World Cup fans\u2019 fun in Foxborough for France-Norway - Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For fans who hoped to see Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard give the Vikings a chance at an upset, the resting players took some of the shine off the day. But not too much.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3696\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-27T10:03:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3696#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3696\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\"},\"headline\":\"Diminished star power does little to take shine off World Cup fans\u2019 fun in Foxborough for France-Norway\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-27T10:03:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3696\"},\"wordCount\":859,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3696#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/9a48d7242e6b4671cfe63fb0d7edc758.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3696#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3696\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3696\",\"name\":\"Diminished star power does little to take shine off World Cup fans\u2019 fun in Foxborough for France-Norway - Boston Relocation Insider\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3696#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3696#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/9a48d7242e6b4671cfe63fb0d7edc758.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-27T10:03:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3696#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3696\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3696#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/9a48d7242e6b4671cfe63fb0d7edc758.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/9a48d7242e6b4671cfe63fb0d7edc758.avif\",\"width\":1440,\"height\":960},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3696#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Diminished star power does little to take shine off World Cup fans\u2019 fun in Foxborough for France-Norway\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Boston Relocation Insider\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Diminished star power does little to take shine off World Cup fans\u2019 fun in Foxborough for France-Norway - Boston Relocation Insider","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3696","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Diminished star power does little to take shine off World Cup fans\u2019 fun in Foxborough for France-Norway - Boston Relocation Insider","og_description":"For fans who hoped to see Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard give the Vikings a chance at an upset, the resting players took some of the shine off the day. But not too much.","og_url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3696","og_site_name":"Boston Relocation Insider","article_published_time":"2026-06-27T10:03:23+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3696#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3696"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e"},"headline":"Diminished star power does little to take shine off World Cup fans\u2019 fun in Foxborough for France-Norway","datePublished":"2026-06-27T10:03:23+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3696"},"wordCount":859,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3696#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/9a48d7242e6b4671cfe63fb0d7edc758.avif","articleSection":["Sport"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3696#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3696","url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3696","name":"Diminished star power does little to take shine off World Cup fans\u2019 fun in Foxborough for France-Norway - Boston Relocation Insider","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3696#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3696#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/9a48d7242e6b4671cfe63fb0d7edc758.avif","datePublished":"2026-06-27T10:03:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3696#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3696"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3696#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/9a48d7242e6b4671cfe63fb0d7edc758.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/9a48d7242e6b4671cfe63fb0d7edc758.avif","width":1440,"height":960},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3696#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Diminished star power does little to take shine off World Cup fans\u2019 fun in Foxborough for France-Norway"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/","name":"Boston Relocation Insider","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com"],"url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3696"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3696\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}