Norway stun Brazil as Erling Haaland scores twice to make World Cup history

Erling Haaland scored, and Andreas Schjelderup jumped on his teammate's back. Haaland scored again, and Schjelderup leapt up again.

Heading in the go-ahead goal in the 79th minute and scoring again before the end of regulation time, Haaland put Norway on his back and carried it into the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time with a 2-1 defeat of Brazil on Sunday that showcased the towering striker on football’s biggest stage.

"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.”

After being a non-factor for much of the afternoon and having limited touches, Haaland spoke at the second-half hydration break with manager Ståle Solbakken, who told him to drain his energy and go for it.

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Haaland turned it on when it mattered most, getting the right side of his head on the ball after a perfect setup by Andreas Schjelderup, who entered at half-time. Haaland scored again a little over two minutes later for his seventh of the tournament, through Danilo's legs to tie Argentina’s Lionel Messi and France's Kylian Mbappé in the race for the Golden Boot.

“It felt it was a gift from God that it actually went into the net,” Haaland said after scoring in a 14th consecutive competitive international match. He has 27 goals in that stretch and 62 in 54 appearances for Norway.

At the other end, goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland was outstanding. He made a crucial stop early, diving to his left to deny Bruno Guimarães’ penalty 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.

The only goal Nyland allowed was to Neymar from a penalty late in stoppage time, which changed only the final score. Neymar, who is 34, said this was his final game for Brazil's national team.

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 only qualified four times and not since 1998. They had not gone further than the round of 16.

"I think that all Norwegian citizens are experiencing the night of a lifetime," Solbakken said. “Some people say that we have changed Norway forever. Probably, they will party for a week or so.”

Norway next face the winner of the Mexico-England round-of-16 game on Saturday in Miami Gardens, Florida. Solbakken said he had more than a dozen friends who had already booked travel to South Florida.

Guimarães became the first Brazil player not to score from a World Cup penalty since Zico in 1986. The decision to have him take it instead of star Vinícius Júnior brought immediate second-guessing and may be questioned and criticised for quite some time.

Manager Carlo Ancelotti said he and his staff conducted a year-long statistical study that determined, with Neymar not on the field and Raphinha injured, Guimarães was the right choice.

There were plenty of other missed opportunities, including Casemiro missing Neymar with a cross on what could have been the equaliser.

“We really fell short in the opportunities that we did create,” captain Marquinhos said. “We had a penalty, we had some other chances as well, but here’s the World Cup for you. Those that make the fewest mistakes are able to move forward to the next round, and to be victorious.”

Brazil go home having massively underachieved expectations set pretty much at win or bust for the five-time World Cup champions. The global powerhouse had its streak of quarter-final appearances at the tournament end at eight, losing before that stage for the first time since 1990.

It was Brazil’s seventh consecutive loss to European opponents in the knockout stage of the World Cup, dating back to beating Germany in the 2002 final. The absence of injured midfielder Lucas Paquetá did not help.

Norway got defender Julian Ryerson back from the injury that sidelined him for the previous two games, and Solbakken was rewarded for making changes at half-time by Schjelderup setting up each of Haaland’s goals.

“During the game, you have to take the 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 football 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 kick-off. Brazil's fans were stunned into silence 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 sell-out crowd of 80,663 were rapper Jay-Z, comedian Chris Rock, actor Woody Harrelson, actress Sofía Vergara and basketball player Jalen Brunson of the NBA champion New York Knicks, who elicited a healthy roar when he was shown on the video screens.