NEW JERSEY, United States
Erling Haaland scored two late goals to send Norway to the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time with a 2-1 victory that condemned Brazil to their earliest exit in the competition since 1990.
Haaland broke the deadlock in the 79th minute at Met Life Stadium off a left-wing cross from Andreas Schjelderup and then added a decisive second with a powerful low shot into the corner of the net in the final minute of the 90.
The Manchester City striker now moves level with Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé at the front of the race for the Golden Boot, with all three on seven goals. His scoring streak for his country has now reached 14 games, with Haaland scoring 27 goals in that span.
"Maybe this will write history in Norway," Haaland said. "Everyone just need to enjoy themselves. This is just an insane day. It's one of the most insane days in Norwegian history. Just enjoy it, embrace it and enjoy the moment."
Bruno Guimarães missed a penalty in the first half, with a chance to give Brazil the lead, after a video review of a tackle from Kristoffer Ajer on Matheus Cunha. Brazil had another chance from the penalty spot after a foul on Casemiro deep into second-half stoppage time, which Neymar converted, but it came too late to rescue Carlo Ancelotti's side.
Norway, who had lost on their two previous visits to the World Cup last 16 -- in 1938 and 1998 -- will meet either Mexico or England for a place in the semifinals.
"I think that all Norwegian citizens are experiencing the night of a lifetime," coach Ståle Solbakken said. "Some people say that we have changed Norway forever. Probably, they will party for a week or so."
Brazil go home having massively underachieved expectations set pretty much at win or bust for the five-time World Cup champions. The global powerhouse was the only team to have played in the quarterfinals of every World Cup from 1994 through 2022 before its run was snapped by Norway.
Brazil have suffered six straight World Cup exits at the hands of European teams since their last title in 2002.
Brazil are now guaranteed to endure their longest World Cup title drought since they won the competition for the first time in 1958. By the time of the 2030 World Cup, it will have been 28 years without a World Cup title for Brazil, surpassing the 24 years between 1970 and 1994.
Guimarães became the first Brazil player not to score on a World Cup penalty kick since Zico in 1986. The decision to have him take it instead of star Vinícius Júnior brought immediate second-guessing and might be questioned and criticized for quite some time.
There were plenty of other missed opportunities, including Casemiro missing Neymar on a crossing attempt on what could have been the tying goal.
Goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland was stellar for Norway. He made a crucial stop early, diving to his left to deny Guimarães' penalty kick in the 14th minute, then got his left hand on a shot by Endrick late when Norway was hanging on to a one-goal lead.
Nyland, who at 35 is his team's oldest player, was a huge factor in a historic victory that ranks among the most significant in the country's history -- at least on the men's side. Norway's women's team won the World Cup in 1995, but the men have qualified only four times and not since 1998. They had not gone further than the round of 16.
Norway got defender Julian Ryerson back from his injury that sidelined him the past two games, and Solbakken was rewarded for making changes at halftime by Schjelderup setting up each of Haaland's goals.
"During the game, you have to take the calls decisions that you feel are appropriate," Solbakken said. "It's a gut feeling that Oscar [Bobb] and Andreas might make a difference, and I felt more secure with them on the pitch the way I wanted us to play the second half, and then you saw what happened."
Those moves played a role in the upset, though this one was not nearly as massive as the group stage in 1998. Norway showed how much it had evolved as a soccer nation since then, with knocking off Brazil the latest step in that process.
Yellow-clad Seleção fans outnumbered those in Norway red, many of whom did the now-famous Viking Row in the stands -- with Brazil supporters even cheering it before kickoff. Brazil's fans were stunned silent when it returned after the game, with Haaland banging the drum and leading the celebration.
"I've peaked a couple of times during this tournament, but this was a new peak," Haaland said.
Also in the sellout crowd of 80,663 were rapper Jay-Z, comedian Chris Rock, actor Woody Harrelson, actor Sofía Vergara and basketball player Jalen Brunson of the NBA champion New York Knicks, who elicited a healthy roar when he was shown on video screens.
