By Amy Tennery
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., July 5 (Reuters) – Erling Haaland struck two late goals as Norway stunned record five-times champions Brazil 2-1 in the World Cup last 16 on Sunday to send the Scandinavian team into their first quarter-final.
With their fans hugely outnumbered and in conditions that felt like a sauna, Norway tuned out the noise and the heat with Haaland using every inch of his 6-foot-5-inch frame to head in the opening goal after 79 minutes before blasting home a shot from distance.
Neymar’s penalty deep into stoppage time was little consolation for Brazil, for whom Bruno Guimaraes missed an early penalty as they failed to reach the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time since 1990.
Haaland pulled level with Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race with his second goal, his seventh of the tournament.
The momentum appeared in Brazil’s favour at the start, as Kristoffer Ajer conceded an early penalty with a foolish challenge on Matheus Cunha after 13 minutes.
But the Brazilian fans were left scratching their heads as Guimaraes stepped up to take the kick instead of Vinicius Junior and that confusion turned to exasperation when Orjan Nyland dived left to save the penalty.
Norway coach Stale Solbakken replaced both wingers after halftime, sending on Andreas Schjelderup and Oscar Bobb, a masterstroke that gave Haaland the supporting cast he needed to put on a show.
The Manchester City striker was a full head above the Brazilian defenders as he headed in the opener from a superb cross by Schjelderup.
Eleven minutes later, Schjelderup again teed up Haaland, who appeared exhausted but found enough strength to fire in an unstoppable strike from outside the box as Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti sat grim-faced in the dugout.
Neymar’s penalty 10 minutes into added time did little to change it.
Norway will play Mexico or England in the quarter-finals.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in East Rutherford, New Jersey, additional reporting by Fernando Kallas and Philip O’Connor )
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