Man City 2026 World Cup Watch: Erling Haaland scores brace to send Norway into quarter-finals

Erling Haaland scored a stellar brace to knock Brazil out of the FIFA World Cup at the last-16 stage where Mexico or England will now await the Norwegians in the last-eight.

Norway pulled off a World Cup shock in New Jersey, dispatching five-time champions Brazil 2-1 to book their first-ever place in the quarter-finals.

The Seleção were left heavily regretting a squandered first-half opportunity when Bruno Guimarães missed a crucial penalty, a mistake that completely shifted the momentum after a cagey opening period.

Despite being heavily contained for most of the evening by Carlo Ancelotti’s defence, Erling Haaland completely turned the match on its head in the 79th minute, peeling off and bullying Gabriel Magalhães to fire home a cross from substitute winger Andreas Schjelderup.

The Manchester City talisman then sealed a historic milestone in the 90th minute, manufacturing space on the edge of the penalty box to unleash a brilliant low drive across Alisson Becker for his seventh goal of the tournament.

There was still time for late technical drama in stoppage time when referee Ismail Elfath awarded Brazil a penalty following a Leo Østigård elbow on Casemiro, which Neymar calmly converted.

However, the strike proved a mere consolation, condemning Brazil to their earliest tournament exit since 1990 and setting the flying Scandinavians up for a dream quarter-final clash against either England or co-hosts Mexico.

Erling Haaland match statistics vs Brazil

2 Goals
90 Minutes
30 Touches
12 Accurate Passes
92% Pass Accuracy
4 Aerial Duels Won
4 Touches In Opposition Box
3 Shots On Target
3 Passes Into Final Third
2 Clearances
2 Chances Created
1 Recovery
1 Interception
1 Headed Clearance
1 Big Chance Missed

Data courtesy of FotMob.