Norway's players huddle before the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Ivory Coast and Norway in Arlington, Texas, near Dallas, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Jessica Tobias)It isn’t just the Viking Row and echoes of Hoooo that rumble through stadia in which Norway are playing their FIFA World Cup. You can not only hear Viking chants, but look at Viking scribbles too when Haaland & Odegaard go about their games.Against Côte d’Ivoire, who remained the only orange kitted team by Tuesday, Norway marched out in their two-chromed jerseys, a stark black lettering on crisp white. Norway’s away jerseys sport an iconic font, a typeface that’s drawn inspiration from the oldest rune alphabet that was used by the Vikings. We are talking 1st century, well before Emperor Bluetooth. The font is San serif, geometric and very angular and pokey – jutting out lines, and inspired from the Elder Futhark runes. It’s called ‘Taakeferd Condensed.’ALSO READ | How Norway football fans turned to their Viking history for FIFA World CupDesigned by Justin Patrick Anthony Fabian Stajowski Tallian or Justinho and Dan Gerhardstein, of Bergen in Norway, the typeface Taakeferd means ‘Journey Through the Fog.’ “I felt it was apt after the nation’s 28 year absence from the tournament. The federation wanted to celebrate the rich heritage of the country dating back to the times of the Viking explorers,” designer Tallian wrote on his Instagram account.The numbers are shorn off most curves – like a slim scribble allergic to cursive. Of the modern typeface, Norse, Copperplate Gothic (minus decorative tips) and Trajan come close to whats dazzling at Dallas. “Slight scallopping was added to the edges of each character, to add a bit more dynamism to the otherwise straight lines,” Justinho explained.Also Read | Messi, Mbappe may be the superstars but Haaland is fast catching upHe has also designed the USA jersey, as also the Corinthians in Brazil.When Nike introduced it in 2024, and went overboard with the rune-stylising, FIFA had bluntly rejected it, because it wasn’t legible and the two-tone colours didn’t pass muster. Nike complied when designing the 2026 WC jerseys, but simplified the lines so it could be seen from far.Story continues below this adNorway jerseys are also sporting the name of opponent, match dates and venue – which means they might be only recently printed out for Knockouts.