Norway are into the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time after a 2-1 win over Brazil that turned sharply in the final stretch at New York/New Jersey Stadium.
Brazil had the early opening, but Bruno Guimarães’ 14th-minute penalty was saved by Ørjan Nyland after Matheus Cunha won the spot kick. That kept Norway level through Brazil’s brightest first-half spell and gave Ståle Solbakken’s side room to grow into the match.
The breakthrough came late. Andreas Schjelderup, introduced at halftime, crossed for Erling Haaland to head Norway in front in the 79th minute. Haaland struck again in the 90th, and Neymar’s stoppage-time penalty only made the final minutes tense rather than changing the outcome.
Haaland and Schjelderup flip the knockout tie
The match will sit as Norway’s biggest World Cup result, and it followed the same late-edge pattern that carried them through the previous round. Haaland had already sent Norway past Ivory Coast, and this time his two goals removed Brazil from the tournament before the quarter-finals.
Schjelderup’s role was just as important. Norway controlled long spells, finishing with 66.5% possession and 680 passes, but the match needed a runner who could separate Brazil’s back line from its midfield. Schjelderup supplied that after the break, assisting both goals and giving Haaland the service Brazil had denied for most of the night.
Brazil created enough to stay in it. They had 14 shots, two penalties and a late route back through Neymar, but the five-time champions never fully recovered from Nyland’s early save or Norway’s late surge. After Brazil survived Japan in the previous knockout round, this one offered no second escape.
Nyland finished with four saves, none bigger than the stop on Guimarães. Haaland finished with the goals. Schjelderup finished with the assists. Together, they turned a tense Round of 16 tie into a historic Norway win and one of the tournament’s defining exits.
The decisive moment came in the 79th minute, when Haaland slipped ahead of Gabriel to meet Schjelderup’s cross and head Norway into a 1-0 lead. Brazil had to open up from there, and Norway punished them again before Neymar’s late penalty.
For Norway, the quarter-finals now await. For Brazil, a World Cup built around Carlo Ancelotti, Neymar and a sixth-star chase ends before the last eight.
