Haaland’s magical brace stuns Brazil, sends Norway into historic WC quarters

Erling Haaland produced a performance for the ages, scoring a sensational second-half brace as Norway stunned five-time champions Brazil 2-1 in the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 at New Jersey Stadium on Monday (IST), booking their place in the quarterfinals for the first time in the nation's history.

The victory ranks among the greatest in Norwegian football, ending Brazil's campaign in the Round of 16 for the first time since the 1990 World Cup, when they were knocked out by arch-rivals Argentina.

Haaland once again proved unstoppable on the biggest stage. His sixth and seventh goals of the tournament not only powered Norway into the last eight but also drew him level with Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot.

The 25-year-old striker also reached another remarkable milestone, taking his international tally to 62 goals in just 54 appearances for Norway — equalling Scandinavian icon Zlatan Ibrahimovic's all-time international record of 62 goals, achieved in 122 matches. Haaland has now scored in each of Norway's last 14 competitive matches, netting an astonishing 27 goals during that run.

Norway came flying out of the blocks and thought they had taken the lead inside three minutes when Patrick Berg fired into the roof of the net, only for the assistant referee's flag to deny the celebrations.

Brazil had a golden opportunity to strike first after being awarded a penalty following a VAR review, but Norwegian goalkeeper Orjan Håskjold Nyland produced a magnificent save to keep the scores level and breathe belief into his side.

That belief turned into history after the break.

With the game finely poised, Andreas Schjelderup slipped a perfectly weighted pass into Haaland's path, and the prolific striker made no mistake, heading Norway in front before adding a second with a clinical finish from 16 metres to send the Norwegian supporters into raptures.

Brazil threw everything forward in search of a comeback, and Neymar converted a penalty deep into stoppage time, but it proved to be little more than a consolation as the final whistle confirmed one of the biggest upsets of the tournament.

Norway now stand just two victories away from an improbable appearance in the World Cup final, while Brazil head home after their earliest World Cup exit in 36 years.

With IANS inputs