Erling Haaland made another World Cup debut as Norway stunned Brazil 2-1 on Sunday to reach the finals. FIFA World Cup quarter finals for the first time in men’s team history.The defeat was also the end of Brazil’s era, and Neymar Jr. announces his retirement from international football after the game after knocking out the five-time world champions. After a quiet opening to the tournament, Haaland came alive at the end, scoring twice to send Norway into the last eight and spark celebrations across the Scandinavian nation. “Maybe this will make history in Norway,” Haaland said. “Everyone just needs to have fun.” This is just a crazy day. It is one of the craziest days in Norwegian history. Just enjoy it, embrace it and enjoy it.” The change came after the second half-time when Norway coach Ståle Solbakken encouraged his star player to ditch the tank and attack with more intensity. The message had the desired effect. Noted at halftime, Andreas Schjelderup transformed the Norwegian attack and created all of Haaland’s goals. The striker headed home in the 79th minute to give Norway the lead before adding two minutes later with Danilo’s curling finish. The goal took Haaland’s tally to seven goals in the game, making him the club’s all-time leading scorer Lionel Messi Argentina and France’s Kylian Mbappé in the race for the Golden Boot. “It feels like a gift from God that it went into the net,” Haaland said after scoring his 14th consecutive international cap. He has now scored 27 goals in this game and 62 in just 54 games for Norway. While Haaland provided one side, veteran striker Ørjan Nyland ensured Norway’s control in the other. The 35-year-old produced one of the best saves of the tournament by diving down to his left to keep out Bruno Guimarães’ penalty in the 14th minute. He later denied Endrick with another stunning stop as Brazil chased down an equaliser. Nyland was eventually beaten in stoppage time when Neymar converted the penalty, reducing the deficit but arriving too late to prevent Brazil’s dismissal. The result is one of the most successful in the history of Norwegian men’s football. Although Norway’s women lifted the World Cup trophy in 1995, the men’s team reached the tournament only four times and never made it past the round of 16. They have also failed to qualify since 1998 before this campaign. “I think all Norwegian citizens are experiencing the night of a lifetime,” Solbakken said. “Some people say we’ve changed Norway forever. They’ll probably party for a week or so.” Norway will now face the winner of the last 16 match between Mexico and England in the quarterfinals in Miami Gardens, Florida. Solbakken revealed that more than a dozen of his friends had already planned a trip to South Florida. For Brazil, the defeat marked another bitter exit from the World Cup. Guimarães became the first Brazilian player since Zico in 1986 to miss a penalty in a World Cup match. The decision to give him penalty duty instead of Vinícius Júnior came under scrutiny. Coach Carlo Ancelotti defended the decision, explaining that the season-long survey identified Guimarães as the preferred choice with Neymar absent from the field and Raphinha unavailable due to injury. Brazil wasted another promising chance, including a move where Casemiro failed to find Neymar with a cross that would have produced an equaliser. “We missed a lot of the chances we created,” said captain Marquinhos. “We had a decision, we also had another chance, but this is the World Cup for you. Those who make a few mistakes can go forward, and be successful.” The five-time world champion exited earlier than expected after entering the tournament among the favourites. It also ended a streak of eight consecutive World Cup appearances, with the Seleção failing to reach the last eight for the first time since 1990. Brazil have now lost seven consecutive World Cup games against European opposition, a streak that began with their win over Germany in the 2002 final. The absence of injured midfielder Lucas Paquetá weakened the side. “I have participated in this tournament several times, but this was a new peak,” said Haaland.
