Norway have written a new chapter in their footballing history, knocking out five-time champions Brazil to reach the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time ever. Erling Haaland was the architect of the shock, scoring twice in the final quarter of the match to turn a tense, goalless contest into a famous victory.

Brazil will look back on a first-half penalty miss by Bruno Guimaraes as the moment that got away from them. Haaland had been largely anonymous for most of the ninety minutes, but he found space to lose his marker Gabriel and glance home a cross from Andreas Schjelderup in the 79th minute. Eleven minutes later, the City forward put the tie beyond doubt, curling a fierce strike into the net from just outside the penalty area.

There was a late twist when referee Ismail Elfath pointed to the spot after ruling that Leo Ostigard had caught Casemiro with an elbow in stoppage time. Neymar made no mistake from the spot, but it did nothing more than tidy up the scoreline for a Brazil side now facing an early exit — their earliest departure from a World Cup since 1990.

Norway's reward is a quarter-final meeting with either England on Saturday.

A Familiar Rivalry, Slow to Ignite

Much of the pre-match attention centred on the personal duel between Haaland and Arsenal's Gabriel, two players well known to Premier League audiences for their combative meetings at club level. Yet on Sunday, that rivalry simmered rather than boiled for long spells.

It wasn't until past the half-hour mark that the pair had their first real coming-together, one that ended with Gabriel on the turf. Haaland's sole sight of goal in the first 45 minutes was routine for Alisson to collect, and the game generally lacked the spark many had anticipated.

That changed as the second half wore on. Haaland nearly broke the deadlock in the 67th minute, nipping in front of Douglas Santos to stretch for a cross supplied by Ajer, only for the effort to drift narrowly wide. Twelve minutes later came the goal that mattered — out-jumping Gabriel to head Norway in front. Not content with providing the assist for himself, Haaland then drove home a second goal unassisted, taking his personal tournament tally to seven in just four matches — a statement, perhaps, to Norway's likely next opponents in England.

Ancelotti's Future Now in Question

For Brazil, the result raises immediate questions over head coach Carlo Ancelotti's position. Brazil managed only 33.5% possession across the match and relied almost entirely on transitions to create danger, squandering the sparse opportunities that fell their way. Despite firing off 14 attempts, only four tested the goalkeeper, and their expected-goals tally of 2.73 — comfortably higher than Norway's 0.84 — tells its own story of wastefulness in front of goal.

Ancelotti took charge of the Brazilian national team in May 2025 following his exit from Real Madrid, guiding them through qualification for this tournament. He remains contracted until 2030, but this early elimination is likely to spark debate in Brazil over his future far sooner than anyone at the federation would have expected.