32 years ago, at the first World Cup held in the United States, a golden generation stood wearing the Norwegian national football team jersey, led by giant goalkeeper Erik Thorstvedt, solid defender Alfie Haaland, and sniper striker Jørgen Sørloth, while their teammate Ørjan Berg, a skillful midfielder, supported them in that football era. Their World Cup journey ended bitterly with early exit, and they returned home carrying unfulfilled dreams, unaware that their story was only the first chapter of a legendary tale to be written by their sons decades later. Time passed, and the children grew up in homes that breathed football; stardom was not just inherited genes but daily lessons in sacrifice and commitment, old boots they wore as children following their fathers, and advice stretching from age five to professionalism. Days passed and Norway returned to the football spotlight once again thanks to an exceptional generation, a family return par excellence unprecedented in the history of the beautiful game. Four players in the Viking squad are literally the direct extension of the 1990s generation, seeking to continue the best journey in World Cup finals history, toward a place in the last four, when they face the English national team in the quarter-finals on Saturday. In the 1994 World Cup qualifiers, the Norwegian team sought the joy of qualification after a long absence, having been absent from the finals since the 1938 edition, a full 56 years, and they were drawn in a difficult group in the European qualifiers, alongside England, Netherlands, Turkey, Poland, and San Marino. Norwegian football in the 1990s knew names that have been echoed frequently in the current World Cup finals: Alfie Haaland played 34 international matches between 1994 and 2001, and is the father of Erling Haaland, the top scorer and star of the current lineup; Jørgen Sørloth represented his country in 55 matches between 1985 and 1994, scoring 15 international goals, and is the father of Alexander Sørloth, Erling Haaland's partner in the forward line of the current Norwegian squad. The 1990s generation also knew one of the most prominent goalkeepers in Norwegian history, Erik Thorstvedt, who played 97 international matches and represented Mönchengladbach in Germany and Tottenham in England, and is the father of Kristian Thorstvedt, who played in the two group stage matches against Iraq and France in the current World Cup. Ørjan Berg played 19 international matches for Norway between 1988 and 2000, and is the father of Patrick Berg, who has played in all matches of the current World Cup edition. Returning to the 1994 qualifiers and the old memory with the English, the Norwegian team forced a 1-1 draw against their hosts in the first leg at Wembley, with the elder Sørloth creating his team's goal, before winning the return leg 2-0 in Oslo, the Norwegian capital. These results played a key role in Norway achieving the dream of qualification after a long absence, as they topped their group by one point ahead of the Netherlands and three points ahead of England, with the Norwegians helping to deprive the English team of qualification to the finals; notably, the 'Three Lions' have not missed the finals since then. The elder Thorstvedt started in both legs against England in the 1994 qualifiers, as did the elder Sørloth, while Alfie Haaland did not play in the qualifiers, having become an international player at the start of 1994, and traveled with Thorstvedt and Sørloth to the United States for the finals. Meanwhile, Ørjan Berg, the father of Patrick Berg, did not play in the qualifiers or even in the finals, but he has a memory with the English after the qualifiers and before the finals, as he was in the Norwegian squad that faced England in a friendly in May 1994, in preparation for the World Cup, which ended in a goalless draw, with Haaland, Sørloth, and Thorstvedt present, meaning that four of the current players' fathers faced the English in that match. Unlike the sons' generation, the fathers did not manage to write a beautiful story in the World Cup, as they were part of the strangest group in the 1994 finals, where all four teams ended with four points each, an event that has not been repeated before or since that edition. Unfortunate for the fathers, despite having the same number of points as their competitors, the Norwegian team finished bottom due to goals scored, after a 1-0 win over Mexico, a 0-1 loss to Italy, and a goalless draw with Ireland; they managed only one goal, which pushed them to fourth place and allowed the rest of the group to advance to the second round. The elder Thorstvedt started in all of Norway's matches then, putting in a good performance with only one goal conceded, while the elder Haaland played against Mexico and Italy in the first and second rounds, and missed the third due to suspension, while the elder Sørloth only played against Ireland in the third round.