Norway surprised Brazil after an open match full of opportunities (2-1), Sunday in New York in the round of 16 of the World Cup. The Norwegians were carried by their goalkeeper Orjan Nyland and by the inevitable Erling Haaland. For the first time in its history, Norway reached the quarter-finals of the competition, where they will face Mexico or England.

Published on: 06/07/2026 - 00:05Modified on: 06/07/2026 - 00:10

Nyland kept Norway afloat and Haaland sank Brazil. The first by making four decisive saves, the second by scoring a double synonymous with victory for Norway (2-1), Sunday July 5 at MetLife Stadium in New York, in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup.

Taking a look at the history of confrontations between the two selections, it looked bad for the Brazilians, who have never beaten Norway in their history. An observation confirmed once again in New York, with a third defeat against the Vikings and for the Seleçao, a drought which has continued since 2002 against European teams in direct elimination matches.

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In a very balanced first act, the ball mainly remained in the Norwegian feet (65% possession at half-time) while the two teams took turns threatening the opposing goal, with two shots on target on each side, without succeeding in taking the advantage. The first serious alert arose quickly, after a high recovery from Odegaard, who launched Sorloth behind the Brazilian defense. The Norwegian striker put it back for Berg who finished with a curling shot into the top corner (3rd). A short-lived joy for the Norwegians, since the goal was quickly canceled for an obvious offside.

The thread of the matchBrazil - Norway: the inevitable Haaland knocks out the Brazilians and offers himself a historic quarter

The Vikings struck again at the end of the first period, with good work from Haaland in the pivot facing the Gabriel-Marquinhos hinge. Opportunistic, Odegaard rushed to recover the ball which was lying around at the entrance to the area and put in a shot in front of Alisson, quick to his feet to block his attempt (45th+3).

On the side of the Seleção, the main regret comes from the penalty obtained by Matheus Cunha after a missed tackle by Kristoffer Ajer in the area. But Bruno Guimaraes missed his face-to-face with the Norwegian goalkeeper, who dived well to the right to repel his shot (13th). Before the break, Vinicius Junior once again called on Nyland, still solid on his line, who pounced on his low shot into the area (40th). It is then impossible to guess which way the match could go.

Nyland disgusts Brazil

Still subject to the pace imposed by Norway, the Brazilians were able to keep their backs for a while before restarting the machine. Having come into play a few minutes earlier, Endrick rushed into the center on an opening from Vinicius, pushing his ball a little too much in front of Nyland (60th). In the process, Rayan also came up against the Norwegian goalkeeper (62nd), just like Guimarães despite an offside position (63rd).

Erling Haaland did not have much more success on his side, narrowly missing the cross slipped to the far post by Kristoffer Ajer (66th). And while the entry of Neymar (67th), who was celebrating his 130th match with Brazil, should have given a second wind to the defeated Brazilians, it was the Norwegian cyborg who struck. It took no less than a perfect cross from Schjelderup in front of the goal to see the attacker appear in the air and beat Alisson on the right (79th, 1-0).

But as big matches are also won with great goalkeepers, Nyland shone again by releasing with his fingertips an unfortunate bell ball from Kristoffer Ajer, which still bounced off the post (85th). And inevitably, Haaland came to drive the point home with a low shot which rocketed towards Alisson's small right net (90th, 2-0). Brazil was down and the Norwegian striker was once again at the top of the scorers' table alongside Messi and Mbappé (7 goals).

Find the ranking of scorers

The Brazilians obtained a penalty at the end of added time, transformed by Neymar (90th + 9, 2-1) for his very last match played in the World Cup. A small consolation for a Seleção still in search of its past glory for 24 years and which takes the door in the round of 16. Norway reaches the quarters for the first time in its history and will face the winner of the clash between Mexico or England on July 11 to continue writing its history.

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