Norway Shocks Brazil 2-1, Haaland Ties Golden Boot Lead
Photo: REUTERS
Erling Haaland scored two clinical goals as Norway stunned Brazil with a 2-1 victory in New Jersey, securing their first-ever World Cup quarterfinal berth.
The Seleção suffered their earliest tournament exit since 1990 as Haaland’s sixth and seventh goals moved him level with Mbappe and Messi in the Golden Boot race.
Norway keeper Orjan Nyland delivered a hero’s performance in the mid-afternoon sunshine. He stopped a low penalty shot from Bruno Guimaraes in the first half after a VAR review confirmed Kristoffer Ajer’s foul on Matheus Cunha.
Nyland later used his legs to deny Gabriel Martinelli and Vinicius Junior to keep the score level at the break.
Brazilian substitute Endrick missed a golden opportunity just seconds after entering, failing to convert a surgical Vinicius Junior pass.
Norway finally broke the deadlock in the 79th minute when Andreas Schjelderup delivered a perfect cross for Haaland to smash home a downward header. Haaland doubled the lead in regulation time by steering a shot through Danilo’s legs.
Neymar scored a penalty in the tenth minute of stoppage time, but it was merely a consolation. Stale Solbakken’s squad now advances to a 11 July quarterfinal in Miami against either Mexico or England.
