England fans leave World Cup viewers in shock after recognising ‘random’ celebrity in Norway crowd
The World Cup coverage has been punctuated by the occasional crowd shot where the cameras stop looking at the football on the pitch everyone wants to see and instead watches someone who is watching the game.
Fans dressed in eye-catching costumes are among their favourite targets, as are attractive women, but the absolute top of the list for a camera to get a reaction from are the celebrities who sit in the expensive seats.
Or perhaps not so expensive, since one likely needs an invitation to make it in the first place.
Many of these folks who get a camera stuck in their face are quite recognisable and very often David Beckham, who we see plenty of during the adverts anyway, but during England's 2-1 win against Norway a number of English pubgoers were pleasantly surprised to spot chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen and realise how many of their fellows recognised him.
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"Was proper shocked how many people in the pub recognised him," one person on the internet wrote when they noticed Carlsen in the crowd.
Then again, perhaps we're giving the wonderful, erudite, cultured bunch that are England fans nowhere near enough credit here.
People might think that chess and football fans would be separate groups, but people have varied interests and for some a well-executed checkmate is as thrilling a spectacle as watching someone boot the ball into the top bins.
Carlsen himself is no stranger to boosting his public profile as he's got a big following on social media and a fairly distinctive face.
And he's from Tønsberg in Norway, so that explains why he was there.
Carlsen previously told Joe Rogan that if it hadn't been for chess, he 'would have wanted to be a football player'.
"I really like watching football," he said during an appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience.
In 2023, Carlsen told PUMA: "I have loved football since I was little. I played it every day. I did not come home from school; I just stayed at the school to play football. Then I came home to play chess. It turned out that I was better at chess, so I continued to do that."
What other celebs were in the England vs Norway crowd?
He wasn't alone among the ranks of the famous in watching England vs Norway, as Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger was another of the famous folk who sat high in the fancy seats to watch Jude Bellingham's brilliance.
Naturally, the Beckhams were there too, while his former England teammates Ashley Cole and John Terry were also in attendance to watch the current Three Lions make it further into the World Cup than they did during their careers.
International football stars like Uruguay's Luis Suarez who infamously bit opponents was spotted, as was France's Blaise Matuidi
Obviously, FIFA's controversial president Gianni Infantino was in the stands again.
To hear some people tell it he was pulling the strings to screw over Norway, but football's much-maligned bald boss tries to appear at as much of the World Cup as he can.
Norwegian royalty in the form of their Crown Prince Haakon was also watching the game, while Love Island's Maya Jama was also seen in the stands.
When the World Cup games resume tomorrow (14 July) there will no doubt be other famous faces in the stands for pub audiences to pick out.
World Cup 2026 fixture schedule and UK kick off times
Tuesday, 14 July
Semi-final - Match 101: France vs Spain, kick-off 8pm - Arlington, US
Wednesday, 15 July
Semi-final - Match 102: England vs Argentina, kick-off 8pm - Atlanta, US
Saturday, 18 July
Third Place Playoff - Match 103: Match 101 losers vs Match 102 losers, kick-off 10pm - Miami, US
Sunday, 19 July
Final - Match 104: Match 101 winners vs Match 102 winners, kick-off 8pm - New Jersey, US
Joe Harker