The Norway national team achieved a remarkable victory over Brazil, 2-1, in a strong match hosted by MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, after Erling Haaland decided the confrontation with a brace in the final minutes.
Brazil started the match with clear pressure, and had an early opportunity to take the lead in the 12th minute, after Matheus Cunha fell inside the penalty area following interference from the Norwegian defence. After returning to video technology, the referee awarded a penalty kick for Brazil, but Bruno Guimarães missed it in the 14th minute, after Norwegian goalkeeper Orjan Nyland blocked it.
The Brazilian team continued its attempts after missing the penalty kick, and Rayyan wasted an opportunity in the 17th minute after he shot the ball near the right post. Then Matthews Cunha tried again in the 24th minute by penetrating towards the goal, but the Norwegian defense intervened at the right time and removed the danger.
As time passed, the Norwegian team retreated to its defensive areas, contenting itself with closing spaces in the face of continued Brazilian pressure. In the 36th minute, Norway made a dangerous attempt through Martin Odegaard, who shot a ball with his left hand that passed just past the right post.
Brazil responded in the 41st minute through Vinicius Junior, who penetrated into the penalty area and shot a low ball toward the middle of the goal, but Neyland blocked it steadily, ending the first half in a 0-0 goalless draw.
In the second half, Norway entered with more confidence, and succeeded in keeping the ball during periods of play through a series of accurate passes, while the Brazilian players found it difficult to regain control during those minutes.
Brazil’s most dangerous opportunity came in the 59th minute, when Vinicius passed a wonderful ball to Indrik, putting him in a direct confrontation with the Norwegian goalkeeper, but the Brazilian striker shot outside the goal, wasting the opportunity to advance.
Norway gradually began to threaten Brazil’s goal, and Haaland almost reached a dangerous through ball in the 67th minute on the edge of the area, but it passed him by a small margin. In the 75th minute, Alisson Becker excelled with a wonderful save, after blocking Andreas Schildrup’s shot heading towards the lower right corner.
But the Norwegian pressure paid off in the 79th minute, when Haaland opened the scoring with a header from inside the penalty area, giving his country a 1-0 lead.
Brazil tried to come back in the last minutes, but did not succeed in breaking the Norwegian organization. In the 90th minute, Haaland struck the second blow with a left-footed shot from outside the penalty area, doubling the score and giving Norway a significant lead.
Neymar was able to convert the penalty kick with a right-foot shot into the goal in stoppage time, making the score 2-1.
Thus, Norway settled the confrontation with a Haaland double, in a match in which the Brazilian team wasted the opportunity to take an early lead from a penalty kick, before paying the price for the missed opportunities in the second half.
