World Cup 2026 pages
Sports · World Cup 2026 · Round of 16
Brazilvs
Norway
1–2
Full time · Sunday, July 5, 2026 · 4:00 p.m. ET · New York/New Jersey Stadium (MetLife Stadium), East Rutherford, NJ
Result
Norway produced the shock of the round at MetLife, beating Brazil 2-1 to reach the quarter-finals. Ørjan Nyland saved a tame Bruno Guimarães penalty on 14 minutes, and Norway soaked up Brazil's pressure before striking twice through Erling Haaland — a 79th-minute header from Andreas Schjelderup's cross, then a composed finish on 90 minutes for his seventh goal of the tournament. Neymar, a second-half substitute, converted a stoppage-time penalty to halve the deficit, but Ståle Solbakken's side saw it out. Brazil took more shots but kept barely a third of the ball, and Nyland's saves settled the argument. Norway advance to the quarter-finals.
Brazil 4-4-24-3-3 NorwayBrazilSubstitutions
At this Stage
The trap sprung. For an hour the glamour side kept the ball and Ørjan Nyland turned Bruno Guimarães's 14th-minute penalty aside — and then Norway, content to cede possession and wait, produced the two moments that mattered. Andreas Schjelderup's cross found Erling Haaland climbing above Gabriel to head in on 79 minutes, and Haaland struck again on 90 for his seventh goal of the tournament. Neymar's stoppage-time penalty was pure consolation. It is the biggest win in Norwegian football history, and it carries Ståle Solbakken's side into a first World Cup quarter-final — Miami, July 11, against the winner of Mexico–England — while five-time champions Brazil, and Carlo Ancelotti, go out in the last 16.
Round of 32
Round of 16
Quarter-final
What we know now
Venue: New York/New Jersey Stadium
Attendance: 80,663
Watch: FOX in English and Telemundo in Spanish, with streaming through Fox One and Peacock; Tubi carries the Spanish-language simulcast.
Watched by: 12.9M in the US
What I said beforehand
The preview, frozen at kickoff. Clearly dated, never rewritten — that's the deal that makes the predictions worth anything.
Brazil to advance, but not with clean hands. Ancelotti's side have the deeper midfield, Vinícius Júnior's isolation threat, and enough defensive recovery speed to survive Norway's direct spells. Norway's case is obvious and unpleasant: Ødegaard supplies, Haaland finishes, and Brazil have already shown they can be dragged into a tense second half. Raphinha's hamstring keeps the ceiling a little lower, but Brazil should still create the extra chance. 2-1 Brazil.
My locked pick: Brazil advance ✗ WRONG
“Brazil to advance, narrowly. Ancelotti's side had to come from behind against Japan and Raphinha still looks unlikely to be risked, so this is not the easy version of the pick. Norway have Haaland and Ødegaard, plus the confidence of a first World Cup knockout win, but Brazil's deeper midfield and Vinícius Júnior's one-v-one threat should create enough. Brazil to win by one.”
Locked 2026-07-04 04:10 UTC — rendered verbatim from the pick ledger; never a fresher, hedged version
The case for Brazil
55% to winBrazil can win this through the middle before Norway's best weapon ever gets loaded. Casemiro, Bruno Guimarães and Paquetá give them more control than Côte d'Ivoire had, and Vinícius Júnior attacking space behind a high right side is a cleaner source of chances than a set-piece grind. Even without Raphinha at full tilt, Brazil have enough creators to make Norway defend for longer than they want.
The case for Norway
20% to winNorway do not need the ball to make the tie feel unsafe. Solbakken's side have Haaland, Ødegaard, Sørloth and Nusa, and their 2-1 win over Côte d'Ivoire proved they can absorb pressure and still find the decisive transition late. Brazil conceded first against Japan; do that again and the MetLife crowd gets a proper upset watch.
Both cases written 2026-07-04, before kickoff — they freeze into the record exactly as written, however the match goes. The percentages are mine, quoted to a decimal because false precision is funnier — the unclaimed 25% belongs to the draw.
Storylines
- Erling Haaland scored both Norway goals — a 79th-minute header from Andreas Schjelderup's cross and a second on 90 minutes — to reach seven goals at his first World Cup.
- Ørjan Nyland saved Bruno Guimarães's tame 14th-minute penalty and made a series of second-half stops as Norway won 2-1, the biggest result in the country's football history.
- Neymar, on as a substitute, pulled one back from the penalty spot deep in stoppage time, but the five-time champions were already beaten.
- Norway reach the quarter-finals for the first time and will meet Mexico or England in Miami on July 11; Brazil and Carlo Ancelotti exit in the round of 16.
The coaches
Carlo Ancelotti Brazil
Brazil's first foreign coach in over six decades; keeps the shape balanced around a Casemiro-Bruno Guimarães base and Vinícius Júnior's left-sided danger.
Ståle Solbakken Norway
The long-serving Norway boss builds around Haaland and Ødegaard, with direct service, set pieces and Nusa's pace stretching matches open.
Availability
| Casemiro | Started — passed fit despite the muscle doubt and played the full 90 in central midfield | ESPN team sheet / match data |
| Raphinha | Named among the substitutes but did not feature — the hamstring problem kept him out of the starting XI | ESPN team sheet |
| Lucas Paquetá | Out — the muscle injury kept him out of the matchday squad; Danilo Santos came on in midfield on 67 minutes | ESPN team sheet / Sports Mole |
| Julian Ryerson | Started at right-back despite the thigh doubt and was replaced by Fredrik Aursnes on 63 minutes | ESPN team sheet / match data |
Availability drifts hourly in tournament week — every row carries its source and date for exactly that reason.
Weather: Open-air MetLife night, with storm risk still the watch item; Norwegian weather reporting said thunder could arrive later, with the heat easing toward roughly 30-32°C. (VG weather report for Norway-Brazil, as of 2026-07-02)
Referee: Ismail Elfath (USA). (FIFA Round-of-16 appointment, reported by Yahoo Sports and africasoccer.com (4 Jul 2026); assistants Corey Parker and Kyle Atkins, fourth official Said Martínez., as of 2026-07-05)
Venue: New York/New Jersey Stadium (MetLife Stadium), East Rutherford, NJ, United States — FIFA strips sponsor names for the tournament; the everyday name is in parentheses.