Norway produced one of the biggest results of the World Cup as Erling Haaland scored twice late on to send Brazil out and guide his country into the quarter finals for the first time in their history.
The contest in New Jersey had drama from the opening stages. Patrick Berg thought he had given Norway a dream start inside four minutes, but the goal was ruled out after Alexander Sorloth was caught offside. Brazil then had a golden chance to take control when Kristoffer Ajer brought down Matheus Cunha inside the area.
Bruno Guimaraes stepped up in the 15th minute, but his hesitant penalty was saved by Orjan Nyland. The Norway goalkeeper went on to play a major role, also denying Vinicius Jr after the Brazil forward capitalised on a mistake from Martin Odegaard.
Brazil continued to create openings, and substitute Endrick should have scored with his first involvement after being released by Vinicius. However, the teenager missed the target when facing Nyland one on one. Neymar was introduced later and eventually scored from the spot in added time after Leo Ostigard was judged to have caught Casemiro, but it came too late to change the result.
The decisive spell belonged to Haaland. After a quiet first half, the Manchester City striker grew into the game and finally punished Brazil in the 79th minute. Andreas Schjelderup delivered a dangerous ball into the box, and Haaland got in front of Gabriel to head Norway into the lead.
With Brazil pushing forward, Haaland struck again in the 90th minute, driving a low shot from distance past Alisson to complete a famous win. His double took him to seven goals in four matches, level with Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race.
The result also raises serious questions for Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti. His side had only 33.5 percent possession and relied mainly on quick breaks, despite finishing with 14 shots, four on target, and an xG of 2.73. Norway’s xG was just 0.84, but they were far more clinical when it mattered.
Ancelotti, appointed in May 2025 after leaving Real Madrid, has a deal until 2030. However, Brazil’s earliest World Cup exit before the quarter finals since 1990 is certain to spark debate.
Norway will now meet either England or Mexico in the quarter finals.
