Haaland's Late Double Ends Brazil's World Cup Dream as Norway Reach Quarter-finals

Haaland's Late Double Ends Brazil's World Cup Dream as Norway Reach Quarter-finals

By Admin 

Erling Haaland scored twice in the closing stages to fire Norway into the quarter-finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Brazil, ending the five-time champions' hopes of lifting a sixth world title.

After a tightly contested encounter, Haaland broke the deadlock in the 79th minute before sealing the result with another strike in the 90th minute, sending the Scandinavian side into the last eight, BSNSports.com.ng reports.

Neymar converted a penalty deep into stoppage time to reduce the deficit, but his goal proved to be little more than a consolation as Norway held on to secure a famous victory.

The result echoed Norway's memorable 2-1 triumph over Brazil at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, when the Scandinavians stunned the South Americans in Marseille on June 23.

Norway signalled their intentions from the opening whistle, appearing to take the lead as early as the third minute. However, their celebrations were cut short after the goal was ruled out for offside.

The Norwegians continued to dictate the tempo for much of the contest, enjoying the greater share of possession and preventing Brazil from establishing any sustained rhythm.

Brazil were handed a golden opportunity to take the lead in the 14th minute when they were awarded a penalty, but goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland produced an excellent save to deny Bruno Guimarães from the spot.

Nyland's intervention proved pivotal as Norway maintained their composure before Haaland's clinical late brace secured one of the biggest victories in the nation's football history and booked their place in the World Cup quarter-finals.