Norway shocks Brazil with a brace and eliminates them from the quarter-finals

Norway delivered a massive shock when striker Erling Haaland scored two late goals to eliminate five-time record champions Brazil (2-1) from the Round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup in soccer on Sunday in New Jersey.

Haaland, the English Premier League’s Manchester City top scorer, did not touch the ball much in the match, but the 25-year-old continued his mission, raising his international tally to 62 goals in 54 caps and 27 goals in Norway’s last 14 competitive matches.

Haaland said, “It’s just a crazy day. It’s one of the craziest days in Norwegian history.”

This marks the first time since the 1990 edition in Italy that Brazil has failed to reach the quarter-finals. Additionally, Brazil has lost its last seven knockout-stage matches against European national teams.

Norway’s record against Brazil is favorable, having not lost in five meetings (three wins and two draws), including a 2-1 victory in the group stage of the 1998 World Cup after Brazil had already secured qualification.

Brazil topped their group on goal difference ahead of Morocco but struggled in the Round of 32, forcing a comeback to score a 2-1 winner against Japan in stoppage time.

Conversely, Norway finished second in their group behind France before eliminating Ivory Coast 2-1 in the Round of 32 thanks to a late goal from Haaland, securing their first-ever knockout-stage victory.

Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti made an involuntary substitution after Lucas Paquetá was injured against Japan, with Gabriel Martinelli replacing him. Meanwhile, Raphinha returned to the bench after missing the previous two matches due to a thigh injury.

Ryan became only the third teenager to start three matches for Brazil in a single tournament, following Pelé and José Altafini in 1958.

An early Norwegian goal was disallowed for offside. Brazil responded quickly when Matheus Cunha was awarded a penalty after a foul by Kristoffer Ajer, but Bruno Guimarães weakly shot his first penalty for the national team, which was saved by goalkeeper Nilsen (14). Guimarães, who has been instrumental with key passes in the current tournament, became the first Brazilian to miss a penalty since Zico in the 1986 quarter-final against France.

On his first touch after coming on, young player Andrić received a pass from Vinícius Jr. following a counterattack but missed a clear chance when one-on-one with the goalkeeper (59). Ryan then fired a long-range shot that was saved by the keeper (60).

At that point, Ancelotti brought on Neymar for Martinelli (67). Prior to Sunday, the Brazilian national team’s all-time top scorer (79 goals) had appeared as a substitute only once in his fourth World Cup appearance, playing the final 14 minutes in Brazil’s 3-0 group-stage win over Scotland.

But the response came from Haaland: he rose above his English Premier League rival, Arsenal defender Gabriel, and headed an unsaveable ball into Alisson’s net (79).

As Brazil chased an equalizer, Haaland scored his second goal of the match, finishing off a new assist from substitute Andreas Skjelbred, who played a low cross into the corner from the edge of the box (90).

Seconds after coming on, Leo Østigård committed a foul on Casemiro inside the box, leading the referee to award a penalty. Neymar converted the spot-kick more than two minutes into stoppage time (90+10), after which the referee confirmed Norway’s advancement and postponed Brazil’s bid for a sixth title, their first since 2002.