Erling Haaland Flew Home to Oslo from the World Cup Carrying a $750 Taxidermy Raccoon Holding a Bottle of Gin

He bought the “Whiskey Raccoon” in Dallas after Norway knocked out Ivory Coast, and now he’s letting fans name it. The options he floated: Cowboy, Ranger, TEX, or R.O.W., short for Raccoon On Wheels.

The taxidermy figure runs $750 and came from Wild Bill’s Western Store in Dallas, where staff locked the doors for a private 90-minute visit after Norway beat Ivory Coast in the Round of 32. Haaland tried on snakeskin cowboy boots and a custom hat branded with his initials and No. 9, then walked out with the raccoon and a few stuffed squirrels.

“It followed me home,” he wrote on X the day the team’s flight landed in Oslo.

Norway’s run went further than anyone expected: past Ivory Coast, then a 2-1 upset of Brazil where Haaland scored twice, before a 2-1 extra-time loss to England in the quarterfinals. He finished with roughly 7 goals in 5 matches, and the raccoon rode home as the souvenir of it all.

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