By Amy Tennery
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., July 5 (Reuters) – Erling Haaland struck two late goals as Norway stunned record five-times champions Brazil 2-1 in the World Cup last 16 on Sunday to send the Scandinavian team into the quarter-finals for the first time.
Neymar’s penalty deep into stoppage time was little consolation for Brazil, for whom Bruno Guimaraes missed an early penalty as they failed to reach the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time since 1990.
With their fans hugely outnumbered and in conditions that felt like a sauna, Norway tuned out the noise and the heat with Haaland using every bit of his 6-foot-5-inch frame to head in the opening goal after 79 minutes before blasting home a shot from distance.
“I said to the boys today that I don’t think it’s 50-50, but we have a fair chance if we play at our best and have match winners, and we had that,” Norway coach Stale Solbakken said.
The Brazil players were left shattered by the humbling loss.
“It’s inexplicable,” defender Marquinhos said. “We have to take responsibility for this so that future generations can build on it.”
‘A NEW PEAK’ FROM HAALAND
Yellow jerseys dominated the stands for Brazil, hoping to see another sublime performance from a team who had been on an 11-match unbeaten World Cup streak in the U.S.
Instead, they watched in disbelief as Haaland’s side sentenced them to their longest World Cup drought in the history of the tournament with their last triumph in 2002.
The momentum appeared in Brazil’s favour at the start, as Kristoffer Ajer conceded an early penalty with a foolish challenge on Matheus Cunha after 13 minutes.
But the Brazilian fans were left scratching their heads as Guimaraes stepped up to take the kick instead of Vinicius Jr and that confusion turned to exasperation when Orjan Nyland dived left to save the penalty.
Norway coach Stale Solbakken replaced both wingers after halftime, sending on Andreas Schjelderup and Oscar Bobb, a masterstroke that gave Haaland the supporting cast he needed to put on a show.
The Manchester City striker was a full head above the Brazilian defenders as he headed in the opener from a superb cross by Schjelderup.
Eleven minutes later, Schjelderup again teed up Haaland, who appeared exhausted but found enough strength to fire in an unstoppable strike from outside the box as Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti sat grim-faced in the dugout.
“I peaked a couple of times in this tournament, but every now and then I get a new peak,” said Haaland. “If I get a chance or two, it usually turns into a goal. I don’t know how I do it, but that’s how I am. It’s about being focused.”
Neymar’s penalty 10 minutes into added time did nothing to change his Italian coach’s demeanour and the Brazilian great wept openly after his final World Cup match.
Haaland, who has now scored in 14 consecutive competitive games and pulled level with Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race with his seventh goal of the tournament, led the celebrations, banging a drum to the Norwegian fans’ famous Viking row as the sea of Brazilian fans left the stadium.
Norway will play Mexico or England in the quarter-finals.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in East Rutherford, New Jersey, additional reporting by Fernando Kallas and Philip O’Connor, editing by Ed Osmond)
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