Norway produced a landmark FIFA World Cup 2026 knockout win, beating Brazil 2-1 in the Round of 16 at New York New Jersey Stadium (MetLife Stadium) in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with Erling Haaland scoring a brace to send the Vikings into the quarter-finals.
The result ended Brazil’s tournament run at the first knockout hurdle they faced in this phase, while Norway’s victory set up a quarter-final against either England or Mexico, who were scheduled to meet in Mexico City in their own Round of 16 tie.
Brazil came into the match after a dramatic 2-1 Round of 32 comeback win over Japan in Houston, sealed by Gabriel Martinelli’s stoppage-time winner. Norway, meanwhile, had edged Ivory Coast 2-1 at Dallas Stadium in the Round of 32, with Antonio Nusa opening the scoring and Haaland netting the late winner.
How the Round of 16 clash unfolded
The opening stages immediately delivered a major moment. In the 5th minute, Norway thought they had taken the lead through Patrick Berg’s curling effort from the edge of the box, only for the goal to be disallowed for offside against Alexander Sørloth in the build-up.
Brazil then had a huge chance to go in front when a penalty was awarded after VAR intervention. At 20 minutes, Matheus Cunha was brought down in the box by Kristoffer Ajer after a move involving Bruno Guimarães and Gabriel Martinelli. The referee initially allowed play to continue, but reversed the decision after reviewing the incident at the pitchside monitor. Bruno Guimarães stepped up, but Ørjan Nyland saved the spot-kick, diving low to his left to parry the effort away.
Nyland’s influence only grew as the half progressed. At 35 minutes, he denied Martinelli’s fierce strike from a tight angle, with the ball flashing across goal and just evading Guimarães arriving for the rebound. Norway also threatened through Antonio Nusa’s delivery toward Haaland at 40 minutes, but Alisson collected after Haaland’s attempted acrobatic finish produced only a glancing touch.
Brazil finished the half with another clear opening. In the 45th minute, Vinícius Júnior broke through and fired a low, curling effort toward the bottom-left corner, but Nyland produced a sharp reaction save with an outstretched leg to keep the match scoreless at the interval.
After half-time, Brazil continued to find chances. Patrick Berg fired wildly over from distance at 50 minutes, before Vinícius again surged down the left at 55 minutes to win a corner. Matheus Cunha’s delivery curled across the face of goal without a Brazilian touch.
At 60 minutes, substitute Endrick missed a golden opportunity after being played through by Vinícius Júnior. A heavy second touch allowed Nyland to rush out and narrow the angle, and Endrick’s hurried finish drifted wide of the left-hand post.
Nyland then added to his highlight reel at 63 minutes, reacting quickly to dive low and palm away a powerful strike from Rayan from the edge of the area. The goalkeeper’s sequence of saves kept Norway in the contest during a spell when Brazil were pushing hard for a breakthrough.
Norway ultimately found the decisive edge, winning 2-1 with Haaland scoring twice to complete a historic passage into the last eight.
Teams, context and what comes next
Brazil started with Alisson Becker; Danilo, Marquinhos, Gabriel Magalhães, Douglas Santos; Casemiro, Bruno Guimarães; Rayan, Gabriel Martinelli, Vinícius Júnior; Matheus Cunha. Their substitutes listed included Ederson Moraes, Weverton, Neymar, Bremer, Alex Sandro, Raphinha, Fabinho, Endrick and others.
Norway’s XI featured Ørjan Nyland; Julian Ryerson, Kristoffer Ajer, Torbjørn Heggem, David Møller Wolfe; Martin Ødegaard, Sander Berge, Patrick Berg; Alexander Sørloth, Erling Haaland, Antonio Nusa, with a bench including Oscar Bobb, Andreas Schjelderup, Jens Petter Hauge and others.
The match was played under referee Ismail Elfath, with kickoff listed at 4:00 PM EDT. With Norway now through, the Round of 16 pathway continues to define the quarter-final bracket: the winner of England vs Mexico will meet Norway in the last eight.
