Brazil face Haaland and an old Norway hoodoo in the last 16

Brazil have a Norway problem, and it is about to get a fresh chapter. The two meet at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Sunday for a place in the World Cup quarter-finals, and the history is squarely on the side of the outsiders. Brazil have never beaten Norway. Four meetings, four matches without a win, and the most painful of them came at a World Cup.

For Indian viewers the tie starts at 1:30am IST in the early hours of Monday, a long way to stay up for a last-16 game. A Haaland-versus-Brazil billing is about as good a reason as the tournament has handed out so far.

How they got here

Neither side arrived in comfort. Brazil were heading for extra time against Japan in the last 32 before Gabriel Martinelli, on as a substitute, struck deep into stoppage time to win it 2-1. Kaishu Sano had put Japan ahead, Casemiro headed the equaliser, and Carlo Ancelotti’s side needed the very last kick to avoid an early exit. Norway had their own nervy night, pegged back to level before Erling Haaland settled it 2-1 late.

Haaland is the story

This is Haaland’s first World Cup, and he has treated it like a man making up for lost time. He scored four times in the group stage, then struck again to see Norway past Ivory Coast, a run of five that has kept him among the front-runners in the Golden Boot race. Brazil’s defenders know him well from club football, which cuts both ways. They understand the threat, but understanding it and stopping it have rarely been the same thing this summer.

An old wound

The record that follows Brazil into this one dates back to France 1998. Bebeto put the reigning champions ahead in a group game, only for Tore Andre Flo to level and Kjetil Rekdal to win it from the penalty spot. That 2-1 defeat, one of the great World Cup upsets, sent Norway through and has never quite been forgotten in Brazil. Across their handful of meetings, Norway have simply never lost to Brazil, a quirk that means little on paper and plenty in the buildup to a knockout tie.

What to expect

Brazil carry the greater depth and, in Vinicius Junior, a forward who can settle a tight knockout on his own. Norway will lean on their set-pieces and their No 9 to make it awkward. If it stays level late, few would bet against Haaland having the final say, and Brazil know better than most how that story tends to end against this opponent.

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