Brazil eliminated by Norway: Erling Haaland scores twice in World Cup 2026 upset

Brazil is out of the World Cup. Carlo Ancelotti’s first experience leading the Seleção came to the most bitter of endings. Haaland, inspired by a sensational second-half display from Schjelderup, fired Norway into the quarterfinals and firmly into the Golden Boot race. He now has seven goals in his first World Cup. Clinical. Ruthless. The “Cyborg” every team fears.

Ancelotti’s biggest dilemma was how to replace the injured Lucas Paquetá in midfield after he was ruled out for the rest of the tournament. Paquetá hadn’t been at his best, but his defensive work had been invaluable. Gabriel Martinelli, the hero against Japan, got the nod instead. It was an all-in gamble, deploying four attackers to contain Sørloth, Ødegaard and, above all, Haaland.

Brazil’s hunt for jogo bonito

Brazil grew into the game after a slow start. Less than a minute had been played when Berg combined with Sørloth before finding the net, only for the goal to be ruled out. An early scare. Brazil responded immediately. Cunha was brought down in the penalty area moments later, and after a VAR review correctly overturned the referee’s initial decision, Bruno Guimarães stepped up from the spot but failed to convert.

That miss woke Brazil up. The midfield came to life, with Casemiro breaking up play and dictating the tempo like in his Real Madrid prime, Bruno Guimarães pushing forward, Martinelli drifting between the lines in a deeper role, and Vinicius constantly threatening down the left.

It was Vinicius’ job to lead the Seleção, and he embraced it completely. People had been saying Brazil was no longer Brazil, that the magic of jogo bonito had disappeared, but perhaps that was before Ancelotti arrived.

One of the Italian’s greatest successes has been giving Vinicius complete freedom. The winger produced an outstanding first half, even if he couldn’t find either a goal or an assist. Whether it was a pinpoint outside-of-the-foot cross or stealing possession from Ødegaard inside the box, he couldn’t beat Nyland.

Between Brazil’s chances, Norway remained dangerous on the counterattack. Brazil looked dangerous going forward and solid defensively. Haaland was quiet, with his personal battle against Gabriel Magalhães proving more entertaining than his attacking threat. The two know each other well from the Premier League and never stopped trying to get under each other’s skin. Brazil kept improving and, in its toughest test yet, finally looked like Brazil again.

Goodbye, Neymar

Brazil’s biggest problem was once again taking too long to get into the game. The second half followed the same pattern, forcing Ancelotti to turn to Endrick in search of a breakthrough. With his very first touch, the youngster had Brazil’s best chance of the match. Played through by Vinicius, he found himself one-on-one with Nyland but couldn’t finish.

The game turned into an end-to-end spectacle. Rayan, one of Ancelotti’s personal projects, went close before Alisson produced a stunning save moments before Haaland somehow failed to connect with Ajer’s cross. It was everything a World Cup knockout game should be, except for the goals.

Eventually, Brazil turned to nostalgia, bringing on Neymar in the hope that he still had one last magical performance left.

Instead, the move backfired. The claim that he was ready to play 90 minutes quickly proved unfounded. Brazil effectively played with 10 men and paid the price.

With 10 minutes remaining, disaster struck. Schjelderup delivered the cross, and Haaland buried the finish to send Norway into the quarterfinals. Brazil refused to give up, and Norway briefly showed its inexperience, with Nyland forced into more saves.

Then, in the final minute, Haaland struck again to seal the victory. Neymar converted a stoppage-time penalty to pull one back, but it was far too late.

Haaland had done it again.

Nobody can stop him.

Get closer to the game! Whether you like your soccer of the European variety or that on this side of the pond, our AS USA app has it all. Dive into live coverage, expert insights, breaking news, exclusive videos, and more. Plus, stay updated on NFL, NBA and all other big sports stories as well as the latest in current affairs and entertainment. Download now for all-access coverage, right at your fingertips – anytime, anywhere.

And there’s more: check out our TikTok and Instagram reels for bite-sized visual takes on all the biggest soccer news and insights.