This is for Lindisfarne! An England World Cup victory over Norway would avenge ancient Viking massacre, Holy Islanders say

Published: 00:02, 10 July 2026 | Updated: 00:14, 10 July 2026 It's a look Norway's national football team has embraced in full this World Cup: Viking chic.  Striker Erling Haaland has led the way with his long blond locks and even starred in a Viking photoshoot with the squad, which has celebrated each win so far by doing a 'Viking Row' to the beat of a drum.  Squint a little, and these modern-day Norwegians could be the crew of a Viking longboat heading for the English coast.  So for locals on one small English island that suffered a notorious Viking raid, Saturday's World Cup clash feels like a chance for some long-awaited revenge. Lindisfarne, also known as Holy Island, suffered one of the first recorded Viking incursions in 793 AD, which many historians believe marked the beginning of the Viking Age in Britain.  Thanks to this bloody history, it's no surprise that its 150 modern-day inhabitants (and many visitors) are praying for an England victory against Norway at Miami Stadium in Florida. During the 'Sack of Lindisfarne', the marauders pillaged the island, which was famous for being a cradle of Anglo Saxon Christianity, before making off with gold and treasure.  Monks at Lindisfarne's Anglo-Saxon monastery were slaughtered and others dragged into slavery. More than 1,200 years on, locals and visitors have joked it is time to 'get revenge' - and claimed Norway are deliberately 'rubbing it in'.  Lindisfarne, also known as The Holy Island, was the site of the first recorded Viking raid. Pictured: Greg Rushton, 19, and his mother Karen  Star striker Erling Haaland embraced his Viking roots by letting down his long blonde locks in a photoshoot for the national team  Norway's remarkable World Cup photoshoot, featuring Viking longboats, war horns and spears Stephen Cavanagh, 68, a retired bricklayer from North Shields, was on a day trip to the Holy Island, which is linked to mainland Northumberland by a three-mile causeway that floods at high tide.  He thundered: 'What happened here in 793 AD wasn't a battle, it was murder. They stood no chance. The boats landed and they didn't fight back.' A passionate Newcastle fan, Mr Cavanagh believes the outcome in 793 would have been rather different had one much-loved defender been waiting on Lindisfarne's sandy shores.  'The Vikings wouldn't have got past Dan Burn - and they won't on Saturday,' he said. 'I think the game will go to penalties but we'll win - it'll be a nail-biter, just like the last game.' Greg Rushton, 19, a finance student at Loughborough University, was on holiday on Lindisfarne with his mother Karen Rushton, a 48-year-old primary school teacher.  The teenager from Birmingham said: 'The sacking of Lindisfarne here was gruesome. 'I learned about the Vikings while at school, and they were pretty brutal. I think England has a real chance to get their own back on Saturday, it's definitely time for revenge. 'Norway have been using their links to the Vikings - it echoes around the stadium. But I think England won't be intimidated, they will step up to the occasion.' Stephen Cavanagh, 68, said: 'The Vikings wouldn't have got past Dan Burn - and they won't on Saturday!' The half-Danish half-English Grinnall family said they are rooting for England to win, but believe friends back home in Scandinavia will be backing Norway An apology letter from Norwegian religious leaders in 1993 hangs inside St Mary the Virgin Church alongside a small marble sculpture of St Olaf  Mrs Rushton added: 'It will be a battle on the pitch, but much more even this time around. Here, it wasn't a battle, it was a slaughter. England won't be slaughtered this time.' Paul and Sue Young, retired teachers in their seventies, insist the Vikings' actions haven't been forgotten.  Mrs Young, 77, said: 'I think England playing Norway is their chance to get a bit of revenge this weekend for what happened here. England will win, 2-1.' Holy Island's best-known site is the ruins of Lindisfarne Priory, a successor to the Anglo-Saxon monastery that was pillaged by the Vikings.  Soaking up the sun nearby was Brian Davis, 70, a retired sales manager from Edinburgh. He said of the Norwegians: 'They've been milking their links to the Vikings with the hats and the rowing thing they do on the pitch.  'What happened here was brutal. I think the game is absolutely England's chance to do some damage and get payback!' Neil Grinnall, 47, was visiting Holy Island with wife Mette, 48 and sons Oskar, 15, and Thor, 9. Lindisfarne's locals want to avenge their history on Saturday night, as England face off Norway in the World Cup Paul Young, 76, a retired graphics teacher, and Sue Young, 77, a retired science teacher, believe the island's people have never forgotten what happened 1,200 years ago Holy Island's best known site is the ruins of Lindisfarne Priory, a successor to the Anglo-Saxon monastery that was pillaged by the Vikings Being half British and Danish, the family are rooting for England to win, but believe friends back home in Scandinavia will be backing Norway. 'The Viking history and the raids, what happened here, it's all love and war, isn't it?' said Neil, originally from London. Inside Lindisfarne's St Mary the Virgin Church is a letter written by Norwegian religious leaders from 1993, which apologises for the Viking raid. It reads: 'We commemorate the event of 793 and the sacrifices of the monks of Lindisfarne with contrite hearts. 'May our common memories of the past help us in this last part of the second millennium to walk the paths of the Lord into the future.' A small marble sculpture of St Olaf is also present on the wall, in 'humble memory of the assault by the Vikings'. Fast-forward to Saturday, and it seems unlikely England will be feeling particularly forgiving.