Erling Haaland beats Brazil with 2 goals, sending Norway to the quarterfinals of the World Cup for the first time.
Listen to this article
Average 5 minutes
The audio version of this article was created by AI-based technology. It can be mispronounced. We are working with our partners to continuously review and improve the results.
Erling Haaland scored in the 80th minute and then scored again before the end of regulation time, sending Norway into the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time with a 2-1 win over Brazil on Sunday that proved the best striker in soccer’s biggest league.
After not playing for most of the afternoon and with limited touches, Haaland turned it on when it mattered most, getting the right side of his head on the ball after a good set-up by Andreas Schjelderup, who came on on the break.
Schjelderup jumped on Haaland’s back to celebrate the 6-foot-5 striker scoring his sixth World Cup goal and did so again after assisting on his seventh, tying Argentina’s Lionel Messi and France’s Kylian Mbappe for the most in the tournament.
Haaland extended his scoring streak to 14 consecutive matches in international competition. He has 27 in that category and 62 in 54 with Norway.
On the other hand, you have a goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland it was a star. He scored an early highlight, diving to the left to deny Bruno Guimarães’ penalty in the 14th minute, then getting his left hand on Endrick’s late cross as Norway hung on for a goal.
The only goal Nyland allowed was Neymar’s penalty kick late in the period, which changed the final score.
Nyland, who at 35 is the oldest player on his team, was instrumental in a historic victory that is among the most important in the history of the country – at least on the men’s side. Norway’s women’s team won the World Cup in 1995, but the men have won only four times since 1998.
Norway will next face the winner of the Mexico-England round of 16 match on Saturday in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Guimarães became the first Brazilian player not to score in penalty kicks at the World Cup since Zico in 1986. The decision to replace Vinicius Junior brought immediate speculation and could be questioned and criticized for a long time.
There were many missed chances, including Casemiro losing to Neymar in an attempt to cross what would have been the equalizer.
Brazil returns home with hopes that have yet to be fully realized in winning or defending the five-time World Cup champions. The global powerhouse had a string of appearances in the quarterfinals at the end of the tournament, losing before this stage for the first time since 1990.
It was the seventh time Brazil lost to European rivals in the World Cup, defeating Germany in the final in 2002. The absence of injured midfielder Lucas Paqueta did not help, although Gabriel Martinelli showed his pace at times after coach Carlo Ancelotti opted for a starting line-up.
Norway regained defender Julian Ryerson from the injury that sidelined him for the past two games, and coach Ståle Solbakken was rewarded for making changes at half-time with Schjelderup setting up each of Haaland’s goals.
Those years contributed to the upset, although this one was not as big as the group stage in 1998. Norway showed how much they have evolved as a footballing nation since then, by knocking out Brazil in the latest step in that process.
The Seleção fans in yellow outnumbered the Norwegians in red, many of whom formed the now-famous Viking Row in the stands – and the Brazilian fans even cheered it on before kick-off. Brazil fans were stunned when he came back after the game.
Also in the sold-out crowd of 80,663 were rapper Jay-Z, comedian Chris Rock, actor Woody Harrelson, actress Sofia Vergara and basketball player Jalen Brunson of the NBA champion New York Knicks, who generated a lively buzz when he was shown on the video screens.
Neymar has resigned from the Brazilian national team
Neymar said on Sunday that he has finished playing for the Brazilian national team, he made this announcement after he and his teammates were kicked out of the World Cup.
“I tried,” said Neymar. “It started here at MetLife Stadium, I finished here. Now it’s over.”
Neymar, 34, played his first match for Brazil on August 10, 2010 – a friendly against the US at the Meadowlands Stadium in northern New Jersey. Against Norway, he scored a penalty in the last minutes after coming off the bench.
Due to an injury to his right calf, Neymar appeared in only two of Brazil’s five matches in this tournament. He was also on the field for 15 minutes against Scotland in the group stage.
Brazil’s best player for over a decade has been hampered by injuries in recent years which have reduced his influence. The country is now entering a period of transition, and the next generation is taking over.
“We ask people to be patient with the new generation and support them from the start,” said captain Marquinhos.
