FIFA World Cup: Rooney keeps Haaland's promise, rows across Hudson like a Viking
Wayne Rooney has proved that a promise made on live television is still a promise worth keeping. The former England captain swapped the BBC studio for a rowing boat just before the FIFA World Cup final, taking to New York’s Hudson River alongside fellow ex-England internationals Joe Hart and Micah Richards to honour a wager made during the FIFA World Cup.
Rooney had promised to row if Erling Haaland’s Norway reached the quarter-finals, dismissing their chances before the Round of 16.
“If Norway get to the quarter-finals, I will go in the River Mersey and I’ll row down it,” Rooney had joked during BBC’s World Cup coverage after Norway’s victory over Ivory Coast.
The bet quickly came back to haunt him. Inspired by a sensational Erling Haaland, Norway stunned five-time champions Brazil 2-1 in the Round of 16 to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 1998. Haaland scored twice in the famous victory before playfully reminding Rooney that he still had a promise to fulfil.
“I’m looking forward to seeing Wayne, Wayney boy,” Haaland said in a video on his YouTube channel.
“Wayne Rooney said he was going to row if we went to the quarter-finals. So Wayne Rooney, I expect you to go out on a rowing trip.”
ROONEY ACCEPTS HAALAND’S CHALLENGE
Rooney accepted the challenge almost immediately, joking that he would not be making such promises again.
“Yeah, I won’t be doing that again,” Rooney laughed before dragging Micah Richards and Joe Hart into the challenge.
“So me, Meeks and Harty, we’re all taking part. We’re just trying to get it put together on the Hudson River.”
With the BBC’s World Cup coverage based in the United States, the River Mersey was replaced by New York’s Hudson, where Rooney, Hart and Richards finally climbed into a rowing boat to make good on the wager.
The challenge also paid tribute to Norway’s now-famous “Viking Row” celebration, which became one of the defining images of the country’s remarkable World Cup campaign.
Norway’s dream run eventually ended in the quarter-finals, but not before Haaland ensured Rooney kept his word.
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