Max Parrott, **** ytical football journalist
The stifling July heat in New Jersey made for a deeply unnatural habitat for Andreas Schjelderup, but became irrelevant when Erling Haaland headed home his cross to break the deadlock against five-time World Cup winners Brazil.
Haaland struck again 11 minutes later, drilling a low shot from outside the box to seal a 2-1 victory that send Carlo Ancelotti’s team packing and Norway through to a first ever quarter-final against England.
This World Cup tournament has largely been defined by the sheer dominance of Haaland. Level on seven goals with Kylian Mbappé and joint-second in the scoring chart, the Manchester City striker is now – if he wasn’t already – a national icon.
For a nation of just 5.6 million people that hadn’t qualified for a World Cup in 28 years, getting past Brazil was unthinkable. How did it come to be and how much further can they really go?
The stifling July heat in New Jersey made for a deeply unnatural habitat for Andreas Schjelderup, but became irrelevant when Erling Haaland headed home his cross to break the deadlock against five-time World Cup winners Brazil.
Haaland struck again 11 minutes later, drilling a low shot from outside the box to seal a 2-1 victory that send Carlo Ancelotti’s team packing and Norway through to a first ever quarter-final against England.
This World Cup tournament has largely been defined by the sheer dominance of Haaland. Level on seven goals with Kylian Mbappé and joint-second in the scoring chart, the Manchester City striker is now – if he wasn’t already – a national icon.
For a nation of just 5.6 million people that hadn’t qualified for a World Cup in 28 years, getting past Brazil was unthinkable. How did it come to be and how much further can they really go?
4 months ago
