The most exciting bet ahead of England and Norway's World Cup quarterfinal match isn't taking place on DraftKings.

Norwegian Air Shuttle proposed a wager against British Airways in an Instagram post after the matchup was set earlier this week. The challenge would pit Scandinavia's second-largest airline against the United Kingdom's flag carrier.

"Hey @british_airways, do you wanna make a bet?👀🇳🇴🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿," Norwegian Air Shuttle wrote on Instagram. "If Norway wins, you have to switch to our logo on Instagram on Sunday (one day). And vice versa. Deal?"

British Airways accepted the challenge with a cheeky comment.

"Don't make bets you can't win 😉," it replied.

The wager caught the attention of other major airlines. "We'll be watching with our satay in one hand and signature drink in the other.🍹" Malaysia Airlines wrote in the comments.

"You two fight over the logo," Austrian Airlines wrote. "We'll bring the Schnitzel."

On Friday, the airlines posted a joint video featuring an official handshake and the exchange of logos. "After all the comments, all the banter, and all the speculation, the handshake has officially been delivered at @british_airways HQ🤝 The deal is on," the post's caption said.

The two airlines continued to take playful jabs at each other in the days leading up to the match. "Today's the day @flynorwegian, nervous yet? 👀🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇳🇴," British Airways wrote.

"just chilling innit xx," Norwegian Air Shuttle replied.

Eivind Hammer Myhre, a spokesperson for Norwegian, told Business Insider that its social media team came up with the idea to challenge another airline.

"But what wager is fun without risk? And we thought, what's the most visible thing we can bet? Our logo," Myhre said. "From there, we created the post, and while we were quite happy with the idea, we would never in a million years have anticipated this kind of reception."

Myhre said the social media posts have reached tens of millions of people around the world.

"I think the most important thing is that every single comment and feedback has been positive," he said. "Throughout this, we were a bit worried about the reception at British Airways, but they have been such great sports. This has almost gone from a wager to being a collaboration between two airlines and what seems like the entire internet."

Still, Myhre couldn't resist one more jab. "May the best Norwegian team win!" he said.

England and Norway will face off at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday. The quarterfinal match will pit tournament standouts like Harry Kane and Erling Haaland against each other. As of Saturday afternoon, platforms like DraftKings, Polymarket, and Kalshi are predicting England to win.

Read next

Lauren Edmonds

You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email.

Lauren Edmonds is an award-winning reporter on the Business News team. When news isn't breaking, she covers personal finance, kitchen-table economics, and paths to financial freedom, including investing, real estate, side hustles, and small business. She also writes about guaranteed and universal basic income programs in the United States.Lauren has also covered lifestyle and entertainment, digital culture, and more. She has a master's degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and resides in New York City.Do you have an interesting story to tell? You can reach Lauren at [email protected] or on Signal at ledmonds0.07.Popular StoriesNetflix wants to be Disney when it grows up Why Hollywood is paying this 17-year-old up to $20,000 to boost film trailers with TikTok editsHere's all the free money Trump's talked about giving Americans during his second term — and where it all standsA 17-year-old earned $72,000 after investing his e-commerce profits into stocks. Here's why he bet on the tech industry.Lawmakers float a nationwide basic income experiment that would cover the cost of a 2-bedroom apartmentNearly 30,000 Americans have received about $335 million in basic income. Here are 5 takeaways. Americans ditch suffocating healthcare costs and divisive politics to retire in Italy: 'It's the way they approach life'From 'road-schooling' to gas that costs $500, this family of 4 shares what it's like living in a solar-powered Greyhound bus

• British Airways
• World Cup