Norwegian Air and British Airways have turned a friendly World Cup wager into one of the tournament’s most popular social media moments after Norway’s defeat to England in the quarter-finals.

Before the match, Norwegian challenged British Airways on Instagram with a simple bet: whichever country’s team lost would temporarily replace its Instagram profile picture with the rival airline’s logo.

A Friendly Bet Goes Viral

The challenge quickly gained momentum beyond aviation circles, attracting millions of views and prompting other airlines to join the conversation in the comments.

Following England’s 2-1 extra-time victory over Norway in Miami, Norwegian honoured the agreement by replacing its Instagram profile picture with the British Airways logo.

The airline also shared a minimalist graphic featuring the British Airways logo alongside the message, “It’s coming home” and “Well played, England & British Airways.”

Norwegian Keeps Its Promise

In the accompanying caption, Norwegian wrote:

“While the tournament is over for us, this friendly bet will forever live in all our hearts.”

The airline also wished both England and British Airways good luck in the semi-finals.

British Airways Responds

British Airways embraced the playful exchange, posting its own Instagram carousel with the caption:

“Rivals for 90 minutes, friends forever.”

The UK carrier thanked Norwegian for taking part in the challenge and congratulated England on reaching the FIFA World Cup semi-finals.