Norway defeats Brazil 2-1 to reach first World Cup quarterfinals

Erling Haaland’s two brilliant goals helped Norway stun five-time world champions Brazil with a 2-1 victory, securing a spot in the quarterfinals of the FIFA World Cup 2026. This marks the first time Norway, playing in their fourth World Cup, has reached the quarterfinals. On the other hand, Brazil, considered a title contender, exited from the round of 16 for the first time in 36 years. Previously, Brazil had been eliminated at this stage in the 1990 World Cup.

In an exciting clash at New York’s New Jersey Stadium in America, Norwegian star striker Erling Haaland emerged as the hero. Although the first half ended in a goalless draw, Haaland scored two outstanding goals in the last 11 minutes of the second half.

In the 79th minute, Haaland capitalized on a pass from Andreas Seldrup to give Norway the lead. Then, in the 90th minute, Haaland doubled Norway’s advantage with a spectacular header, again assisted by Seldrup.

In the ninth minute of injury time, Brazil’s Neymar scored a penalty, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the team’s defeat. Earlier, Brazil had missed a golden opportunity to take the lead at the start of the match.

In the 14th minute, Norway’s Kristoffer Ajer committed a foul in the penalty box, leading to a penalty for Brazil after a VAR review. However, Bruno Guimarães’s shot was brilliantly saved by Norwegian goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland.

With this missed penalty, Bruno Guimarães became the first Brazilian player in 40 years to fail to score from the spot in a World Cup. The last instance was in 1986 when Brazilian legend Zico missed a penalty against France.