Norway has stunned Brazil, beating the five-time world champions 2-1 in a round of 16 game of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on the back of a brilliant performance by striker Erling Haaland.
The Brazil vs Norway game was the third round of 16 match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The match was played in the iconic New York New Jersey Stadium. In their round of 32 fixtures, the Norwegians slipped past the Ivory Coast 2-1, while the Brazilians beat Japan with the same scoreline.
How did Norway defeat Brazil?
Norway made their mark on this game in the very early minutes. In the third minute, after a pacey counter-attack, midfielder Patrick Berg slotted the ball into the net, only for the referee to determine that the ball was offside at one point during the attack.
Then, in the 10th minute, Brazil advanced the ball up the pitch. While their attack was noticeably slower than that of Norway, their players controlled the ball better. And so, as the ball was passed to Matheus Cunha in the box, he was tackled by defender Kristoffer Ajer.
While the ref called for no foul, replays clearly showed that Cunha was tackled after the ball went away from him. It was a clear penalty that was not given. So, a VAR check resulted in a penalty kick for Brazil. Midfielder Bruno Guimarães stepped up to take the shot, only for his stutter-step kick to be denied by goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland.
The Seleção created several more chances in the first half, most of them on the back of their star player, Vinicius Jr., only for either Norway’s defence to stifle the flame or their goalkeeper, who was having the game of his life, to stop them.
In the extra time of the first half, Norway captain Martin Ødegaard took a powerful shot at the goal, but it was stopped by Alisson, who had not gotten the chance to make too many saves by this point. And just like that, the first 45 minutes had elapsed with a 0-0 scoreline.
The second half started a little slowly. And so, around the 57th minute mark, both teams made a few changes. This came just a couple of minutes later, as Brazil launched an attack on the back of Vini, making an incisive pass to Endrick, who beat the Norwegian defenders and had a clear shot at goal, only to be denied by Nyland, who was slowly emerging as a national hero in this match.
The Brazilian attacks continued relentlessly, with the five-time champions taking several decent shots at the goal. However, either the shots were not too threatening, or they were stopped by Ørjan Nyland.
Check Out: How did Norway defeat Brazil?
So, the question stands: if Ørjan Nyland was clearly the standout player of this game for well over an hour or so, why was Erling Haaland named the Player of the Match?
The Manchester City striker had been decent in creating the few Norway chances in this game by this point. However, he had not shown why many consider him the best attacker in the world today. This all changed in the 79th minute.
With the game still 0-0, Andreas Schjelderup whipped a ball into the box from wide. Haaland, in the box, jumped so much higher than his marker, Gabriel Magalhães, and slotted the ball into the bottom-left corner with a sublime header, 1-0, with an utter domination of a star Brazilian defender.
It remained competitive for the rest of the match, with Brazil displaying slightly more urgency in their attack but ultimately failing to score.
In the 90th minute. Haaland found himself with the ball outside the box with the whole defensive line between him and the goal. So, rather than looking to create a better chance, he fired the box from about 20 yards out and deposited the ball past Alisson into the bottom corner again, 2-0, and Norway was now going into the quarter-finals.
In the last minute of stoppage time, Brazil received a soft penalty. And to take it, up stepped Neymar. The Brazilian legend who was surely playing his last World Cup game ever. Neymar converted, giving this otherwise disappointing game a sentimental finish for the Brazilians.
And just like that, Norway, which had not qualified for the World Cup in 28 years, will not play in the quarter-final of this one. The Vikings will take on the winner of the Mexico vs England match in the next knockout round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Check Out: How did Norway defeat Brazil?
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