Erling Haaland shoots Norway past Brazil to the World Cup quarter finals

Erling Haaland shoots Norway past Brazil to World Cup quarter finals

Norway made history on Sunday evening by beating Brazil to qualify for the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup in the United States. In an exciting match at the Miami Stadium, it was Erling Haaland who made his mark with two goals and led Norway to a 2-1 victory.

The game started lively: Patrick Berg quickly seemed to give Norway the lead, but the goal was disallowed due to offside by Alexander Sørloth. On the other hand, Carlo Ancelotti's Brazil had the opportunity to open the scoring. Defender Kristoffer Ajer committed a foul on Matheus Cunha, after which referee Ismail Elfath awarded a penalty to the South Americans after consulting the VAR. Bruno Guimarães went behind the ball, but his weak effort was expertly stopped by goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland.

Guimarães unintentionally made history: he became the first Brazilian player in forty years to miss a penalty during regular time at a World Cup. In the remainder of the first half, both teams were evenly matched, with opportunities on both sides, but no goals were scored before halftime.

After the break, Norway continued to push, but the first big chance lay with Brazil. Substitute Endrick appeared alone in front of the Norwegian goalkeeper after a nice pass from Vinícius Júnior, but Nyland kept his goal clean. Moments later, Nyland also managed to parry a shot from Guimarães.

Norway struck again ten minutes before the end. It was Haaland who turned out to be the absolute standout. The Manchester City striker towered over Gabriel Magalhães and headed in a measured cross from Andreas Schjelderup: 0-1. In the final phase, Brazil had a great chance to equalize, but a feline save and a little help from the post prevented the 1-1.

In injury time, Haaland, with his seventh goal of this World Cup, even made it 0-2 with a placed shot from the edge of the penalty area. Neymar briefly reduced the tension via a late penalty (1-2), but it turned out to be too late.

Norway qualifies for the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the first time since 1998 and will meet the winner of the match between Mexico and England on Saturday, July 11, again at the Miami Stadium. For Brazil, the elimination is a huge disappointment and puts an end to their World Cup adventure in 2026. For Norway and their superstar Erling Haaland, the dream lives on.

---

Related Articles

1. What's in store for the US after the 2026 World Cup? Three important
2. Bukayo Saka equals two World Cup assist records with cross

Read more on our latest coverage and stay tuned for updates on what happens next.