After a scoreless first half of soccer, Erling Haaland could not be denied in the second half of Norway‘s 2-1 World Cup Round of 16 win on Sunday.
The Manchester City star powered his way through Brazil’s defense, scoring his first goal on a header at the 79-minute mark to put Norway ahead 1-0.
Haaland put the game out of reach 11 minutes later, with a sweet kick he sent past Brazil goalkeeper Alisson Becker.
“It means everything. Honestly, I didn’t expect it,” Haaland said on Fox Sports about the win. “There’s not much to say, because look at the streets in Norway. I’m 25 years old, I’ve never experienced anything like it before. I kind of wish that I was in Oslo now, celebrating with all the people, but it’s unreal and I think it’s going to change a lot of things in Norway.”
Haaland continued to showcase the emergence of one of the youngest new stars on the world stage, with his latest two-goal performance pushing his 2026 World Cup total up to seven, matching Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe.
“It’s been a good Golden Boot so far. I’m trying to do my job for Norway, and so far, so good,” Haaland said regarding the current race to win the award.
Messi remains the favorite to finish the World Cup as the top goalscorer, but a lot will depend on how far the respective teams advance. Haaland and Mbappe have also recorded several multi-goal performances during their time in the spotlight.
Haaland and Norway are now waiting to see whether they play against Mexico or England. Those two teams were set to meet Sunday night in Mexico City.
However, with their latest win, it appears Norway is emerging as a potential contender, as they are now sixth at DraftKings Sportsbook amongst the remaining teams in terms of odds to win the 2026 World Cup.
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