Norway will face co-hosts Mexico or England in the quarterfinals, and Haaland’s two goals brought his total to seven in the tournament.
Published July 5, 2026
Erling Haaland scored two goals in the final minute to give Norway a 2-1 victory over Brazil and advance to their first World Cup quarter-final. As a result, five-time champions Brazil were handed their earliest defeat since 1990.
Norway goalkeeper Orjan Nyland was sensational at New York’s New Jersey Stadium on Sunday, saving a penalty from Bruno Guimarães in the first half and Haaland surprising Brazil with two goals in the final 11 minutes.
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Neymar pulled home a goal late in stoppage time with Brazil’s second spot-kick of the game.
Norway is scheduled to play co-hosts Mexico or England in Miami on July 11, and Haaland’s two goals move him level with Lionel Messi with seven goals in the competition.
It was the sixth straight defeat to a European opponent for Brazil, who were coached by Carlo Ancelotti to end a 24-year World Cup drought.
The last time Brazil failed to reach at least the quarter-finals was 36 years ago, when they lost 1-0 to arch-rivals Argentina in the last 16.
Arsenal’s winger was the only change in the Brazilian squad, replacing the injured Lucas Paqueta, and Gabriel Martinelli was honored for scoring the winning goal in stoppage time in the previous match against Japan.
Norway was boosted by the return of Borussia Dortmund defender Julian Ryerson, who missed the past two games with a thigh injury.
Patrik Berg thought he had given Norway the lead within three minutes, but his shot was canceled for offside in the build-up.
After a shaky start, Brazil earned a penalty when Christopher Ajer collided with Matheus Cunha in the box.
Initially, referee Ismail Elfas rejected the appeal, which angered the Brazilian, but VAR intervened and the decision was overturned.
Guimarães stepped up, but Nyland correctly anticipated it and dived low to his left, pushing away the Newcastle midfielder’s meek penalty.
Nyland again came to Norway’s rescue, gaining the decisive touch as Martinelli’s low drive crossed the goal, denying Guimarães a simple tap-in.
When Martin Odegaard lost the ball in front of his own box, Nyland came to the rescue again by stepping out to deny Vinicius Junior.
Haaland didn’t make much of an impact, but his strength gave Norway a brilliant lead just before half-time.
The striker caused problems for Gabriel Magalhães and Marquinhos in the Brazilian defense, but the ball broke gently to Odegaard, whose shot was well saved by Alisson.
Norway coach Starre Solbakken introduced Oskar Bobb and Andreas Schjelderup during the break for Antonio Nusa and Alexander Sorloth, but it was the introduction of Endrik that almost immediately changed the game.
Vinicius Junior made a nice pass from the outside of his foot to get Endrick over goal, only for Endrick to drop wide as Nyland came out and closed in.
Nyland continued to frustrate Brazil, and although he was flagged for offside, he made a good save to fend off Rayan’s fierce attack and then made a fine stop to deny Guimarães.
Neymar’s arrival in the 67th minute caused a loud roar from the largely pro-Brazil crowd.
However, it was Norway who finally broke the stalemate, and it came from an unavoidable cause.
Schjerderup crossed from the left, jumped over Gabriel and headed into the corner.
As Brazil desperately chased an equalizer, Nyland backpedaled and made an incredible fingertip save to prevent Ajer from sending a looping ball into his own net.
In the 90th minute, Haaland gave Norway some breathing space when he curled a low shot from the edge of the box into the top corner.
This proved crucial when Neymar converted a penalty 10 minutes into second-half stoppage time. Before that, there was an ugly altercation with Nyland after he was elbowed by Casemiro.
