Haaland knocks out Brazil to send Norway into the World Cup quarterfinals
Two goals from Erling Haaland at MetLife Stadium end Brazil's tournament in the last 16, their earliest World Cup exit since 1990.
Erling Haaland has knocked Brazil out of the World Cup. The Norway striker scored both goals in a 2-1 win at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Sunday, sending his country into the quarterfinals of a World Cup for the first time and ending the tournament of one of the pre-competition favourites at the last-16 stage.
It is Brazil's earliest World Cup exit since 1990, a chastening result for a side that had topped its group and come through the previous round. Haaland's brace was the difference on the night. Brazil pulled a goal back but could not force their way to a decider, and the five-time champions were left to reflect on a knockout campaign that unravelled far sooner than anyone in yellow expected.
For Norway it is the high point of a remarkable run. A nation that had not reached the World Cup since 1998, and had never before strung together back-to-back knockout wins on this stage, now finds itself among the last eight. Haaland, who also struck the winner against Ivory Coast in the previous round, carries the tournament's most talked-about individual story into its business end, his club-level menace finally translated onto the game's biggest stage.
The result reshapes the top half of the draw and removes a favourite from a bracket that is suddenly opening up. Attention now turns to the other Sunday tie, co-hosts Mexico against England at the Estadio Azteca, and to the quarterfinals that follow across US venues, where Norway will arrive with nothing to lose and the most in-form number nine on the planet.
