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07/05/26 06:02:00
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07/05 18:01 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 scored, and Andreas Schjelderup
jumped on his teammate's back. Haaland scored again, and Schjelderup leapt up
again.
Heading in the go-ahead goal in the 80th minute and scoring again before the
end of regulation time, Haaland put Norway on his back and carried it into the
World Cup quarterfinals for the first time with a 2-1 defeat of Brazil on
Sunday that showcased the towering striker on soccer's biggest stage.
"Maybe this will write history in Norway," Haaland said. "Everyone just need to
enjoy themselves. This is just an insane day. It's one of the most insane days
in Norwegian history. Just enjoy it, embrace it and enjoy the moment."
After being a nonfactor for much of the afternoon and having limited touches,
Haaland spoke at the second-half hydration break with coach Stle Solbakken,
who told him to drain his energy and go for it.
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. Haaland scored 10 minutes later for his seventh of the tournament,
tying Argentina's Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbapp of France in the race for the
Golden Boot.
"It felt it was a gift from God that it actually went into the net," Haaland
said after scoring in a 14th consecutive competitive match 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.
"I think that all Norwegian citizens are experiencing the night of a lifetime,"
Solbakken said. "Some people say that we have changed Norway forever. Probably,
they will party for a week or so."
Norway next faces the winner of the Mexico-England round-of-16 game on Saturday
in Miami Gardens, Florida. Solbakken said he had more than a dozen friends
already book travel to South 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.
"We really fell short in the opportunities that we did create," captain
Marquinhos said. "We had a penalty kick, we had some other chances as well, but
here's the World Cup for you. Those that make the least mistakes are able to
move forward to the next round, and to be victorious."
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 in the knockout
round 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 Solbakken was rewarded for making changes at halftime by
Schjelderup setting up each of Haaland's goals.
"During the game, you have to take the calls decisions that you feel are
appropriate," Solbakken said. "It's a gut feeling that Oscar (Bobb) and Andreas
might make a difference, and I felt more secure with them on the pitch the way
I wanted us to play the second half, and then you saw what happened."
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, with Haaland banging the drum and leading the celebration.
"I've peaked a couple of times during this tournament, but this was a new
peak," Haaland said.
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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See more of AP's World Cup coverage here
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