Norway caused a sensation by knocking Brazil out and reached the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup for the first time
The Norwegian national team beat Brazil 2–1 in the round of 16 at the 2026 World Cup. Erling Haaland scored twice, and Norway reached the quarter-finals of the tournament for the first time in their history.
The Norwegian national team beat Brazil in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup. The match at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, USA, ended in a 2–1 victory for the Norwegians.
As early as the third minute, Patrick Berg found the back of the Brazilian net, but following a review, the goal was disallowed due to Alexander Serlot being offside when he played the pass.
In the 14th minute, Brazil were awarded a penalty following a foul by Kristoffer Ajer on Matheus Cunha. However, Bruno Guimarães was unable to beat goalkeeper Erjan Nuland, who saved the spot-kick.
The first half ended goalless. After the break, Brazil’s head coach Carlo Ancelotti brought on Endrick and Neymar in an attempt to strengthen their attack.
The deadlock was broken in the 79th minute. Erling Haaland headed home a cross from Andreas Scheldrup on the left flank.
In the 90th minute, Haaland completed his brace, firing a precise shot into the far corner following yet another assist from Scheldrup.
With that, the Norwegian striker took his tally for the tournament to seven goals, drawing level with Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé on the World Cup’s top scorers list.
In stoppage time, Brazil pulled one back. In the 90+10th minute, Neymar converted a penalty awarded for a foul by Leo Estigarribia on Casemiro. This goal was Neymar’s 80th for the national team in 130 matches, as well as his ninth at World Cups. The Brazilian side were unable to salvage the match.
Thanks to this victory, Norway have reached the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time in their history. Norway’s next opponents will be the winners of the match between Mexico and England, which takes place on 6 July at 03:00 Kyiv time.
In the group stage, Norway finished second in Group I, beating Iraq 4–1 and Senegal 3–2, whilst losing 1–4 to France. In the round of 32, the team beat Côte d’Ivoire 2–1.
Brazil topped Group C, drawing 1–1 with Morocco and beating Haiti 3–0 and Scotland 3–0. In the first round of the knockout stage, Carlo Ancelotti’s side beat Japan 2–1.
The 2026 World Cup runs from 11 June to 19 July in the USA, Mexico and Canada. This is the first time the tournament has featured 48 national teams.
