Brazil bids farewell to 2026 World Cup: Erling Haaland sends Seleção home

A major shock in the football world: Brazil's dreams of winning a sixth World Cup title have been delayed by at least another four years. In the Round of 16 clash at the 2026 World Cup held in the USA, Norway unexpectedly defeated the South American giants 2-1, eliminating them from the tournament. Erling Haaland's late brace secured a historic victory for the Scandinavians, as reported by Goal.com. reports .

The match started poorly for Brazil. Although Norway's Patrick Berg scored early on, the goal was disallowed by the officials due to offside. Following this, Carlo Ancelotti's side had a golden opportunity to open the scoring. After Matheus Cunha was brought down inside the penalty area, the referee pointed to the spot. However, Bruno Guimarães' penalty was saved by goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland. This moment proved to be the turning point of the match.

Even the introduction of Endrick and Neymar did not help

In the second half, Brazil brought on young talent Endrick to bolster their attack. The Real Madrid forward found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper after a brilliant pass from Vinícius Júnior, but missed the target. According to Goal.com, Endrick's impact was not as expected, and his errors negatively affected the team's performance.

Norway, meanwhile, defended with discipline and launched dangerous counter-attacks. In the 80th minute, Erling Haaland headed home a cross from Andreas Schjelderup on the left flank, giving the Norwegians a huge boost of confidence. As Brazil pushed forward with all their might, Haaland struck again in the 90th minute from the edge of the box to complete his brace and seal the result.

In stoppage time, another penalty was awarded after a foul on Casemiro. This time, Neymar made no mistake and narrowed the deficit, but the remaining seconds were not enough for the Seleção. Brazil's championship drought, which has lasted since 2002, will now extend to at least 28 years.

This defeat is a massive blow to the Brazilian football community. The star-studded squad led by Carlo Ancelotti proved helpless against Norway's disciplined play and Erling Haaland's phenomenal skill. Norway, reaching the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time in their history, has become the tournament's biggest revelation.