07/05/26 05:19:00
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07/05 17:17 CDT Erling Haaland scores twice to beat Brazil, send Norway into
World Cup quarterfinals for 1st time
Erling Haaland scores twice to beat Brazil, send Norway into World Cup
quarterfinals for 1st time
By STEPHEN WHYNO
AP Sports Writer
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) --- Erling Haaland headed in the go-ahead goal in
the 80th minute and scored again before the end of regulation time, carrying
Norway into the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time with a 2-1 victory
over Brazil on Sunday that showcased the towering striker on soccer's biggest
stage.
After being a nonfactor for much of the afternoon and having limited touches,
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
halftime. Schjelderup jumped on Haaland's back to celebrate the 6-foot-5
striker scoring his sixth goal at the World Cup and did so again after
assisting on his seventh, tying Argentina's Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbapp of
France for the most in the tournament.
Haaland extended his streak of scoring to 14 consecutive competitive matches
internationally. He has 27 in that stretch and 62 in 54 with Norway.
At the other end, goalkeeper rjan Nyland was stellar. He made a crucial stop
early, diving to his left to deny Bruno Guimaraes' penalty kick 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 on a penalty kick late in stoppage
time, which changed just the final score.
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.
Norway next faces the winner of the Mexico-England round-of-16 game on Saturday
in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Guimaraes became the first Brazil player not to score on a World Cup penalty
kick since Zico in 1986. The decision to have him take it instead of star
Vincius Jnior brought immediate second-guessing and may be questioned and
criticized for quite some time.
There were plenty of other missed opportunities, including Casemiro missing
Neymar on a crossing attempt on what could have been the tying goal.
Brazil goes 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 quarterfinal 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 at the World
Cup, dating to beating Germany in the 2002 final. The absence of injured
midfielder Lucas Paquet did not help, even though Gabriel Martinelli showed
off his speed at times after being coach Carlo Ancelotti's choice to go into
the starting lineup.
Norway got defender Julian Ryerson back from his injury that sidelined him the
past two games, and coach Stle Solbakken was rewarded for making the changes
at halftime by Schjelderup setting up each of Haaland's goals.
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
soccer nation since then, with knocking off Brazil the latest step in that
process.
Yellow-clad Seleao 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 kickoff. Brazil's fans were stunned silent when it returned after the
game.
Also in the sellout crowd of 80,663 were rapper Jay-Z, comedian Chris Rock,
actor Woody Harrelson, actress Sofa Vergara and basketball player Jalen
Brunson of the NBA-champion New York Knicks, who elicited a healthy roar when
he was shown on video screens.
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