Erling Haaland has been ruthless throughout this World Cup, and Norway will need their star striker at his best if they are to beat Brazil in the round of 16 tie in East Rutherford on 6 July.
Haaland’s late winner against Ivory Coast, his fifth goal of the tournament, secured Norway’s first ever World Cup knockout victory and marked a return to the global stage after a 28 year absence. Now they hope to repeat their famous group stage win over Brazil at the 1998 World Cup and reach the quarter finals for the first time.
Haaland himself rated Norway’s chances as “very small,” but history offers some encouragement. Norway have never lost to Brazil in four previous meetings, winning twice and drawing twice. Head coach Stale Solbakken was a midfielder in the Norway squad that beat Brazil 2-1 in 1998 before exiting at the last 16 stage.
“Brazil are favourites, of course they are, but we are hopeful that we will give them a match, and we are not playing the game for fun, we are playing to win the game and to reach the quarter finals,” Solbakken said. “It’s possible, but it’s very difficult.”
Solbakken believes he has “the greatest goalscorer in the world” at his disposal in Haaland, who has scored in each of his last 13 competitive internationals, netting 25 times during that run. Captain Martin Odegaard echoed his coach’s confidence in the Manchester City forward. “It’s amazing to have him in the team, we’re lucky to have him and it’s just about giving him as many opportunities as possible,” he said.
Brazil have their own match winner in Vinicius Junior, whose four goals have made him the team’s leading scorer and most influential attacker at the tournament. The Real Madrid forward became the first Brazilian since Ronaldo and Rivaldo in 2002 to score in all three group stage matches, the last time Brazil lifted the trophy.
Solbakken acknowledged the scale of that threat, joking his side might need to set up in a “7-3-0 formation” to contain him. “I think every team needs to set up the team right and try to stop him. It’s not easy. You have seen that so far in the World Cup. We will try to do our best,” he said.
Goalkeeper Orjan Nyland, who has spent the past three seasons in La Liga with Sevilla, is well aware of the danger Vinicius poses, but pointed to Norway’s recent form as reason for belief. “Because of what we’ve done over the last two or three years and what we’ve achieved so far, we know we can stop anyone,” the 35 year old said.
Brazil, meanwhile, are relying on Carlo Ancelotti’s proven pedigree to guide them back to the top of the game. They needed a stoppage time winner from Gabriel Martinelli to see off Japan in the last 32, their first comeback win in a World Cup knockout match since beating England 2-1 in 2002. Martinelli praised his manager’s influence at half time in that game. “Ancelotti is a surreal guy. At half time, he gave us confidence, he told us that we would score and come back. It didn’t matter when the goal would be scored. We sensed his calmness. It relaxed us,” he said.
Brazil must also overcome a troubling recent pattern, having failed to beat a European opponent in the knockout stage in each of the last five World Cups, including a penalty shootout defeat to Croatia in the 2022 quarter finals. Matheus Cunha said the squad had dedicated significant training time to countering Norway’s aerial threat, but warned against focusing solely on Haaland. “I think we have to concentrate not only on him, but on several Norway players. They have a very strong physical presence throughout the team,” he said.
Lucas Paqueta remains ruled out with a hamstring injury, though Raphinha could be available having returned to training on 3 July after missing the past two matches with a thigh injury sustained in Brazil’s second group game.
