4 min readJul 6, 2026 12:31 PM IST
First published on: Jul 6, 2026 at 12:30 PM IST
Norway surprised five-time champions Brazil with a 2-1 win at the New Jersey Stadium in New York, USA, on Sunday. Erling Haaland’s brilliant brace helped the Scandinavian nation triumph, with substitute midfielder Andreas Schjeldrup assisting in both goals.
Neymar’s late penalty did little to save Brazil from coming back as Haaland’s brace proved significant in sealing Norway’s place in the quarterfinal, where they will face England.
The Manchester City striker has rapidly emerged as one of the most naturally gifted goalscorers of his generation with sharp instincts and movements.
He may lack the ability to link up play or may not be the best creator on the pitch just yet, but in the box, few slam the ball into the back of the net with greater frequency than him at the very first opportunity.
“He has something that maybe you can’t train so much — the sniff for goals, the feeling that the ball will land at your feet, or in that movement, and I think that is his biggest strength,” Norway’s head coach Stale Solbakken said after the win against Côte d’Ivoire in the Round of 32 match.
ALSO READ | The making of Haaland: How a tiny boy became football’s ultimate predator
His rich vein of form continued after the goals in New Jersey on Sunday, as he sits at the top with seven goals in four games, level with the Argentine Lionel Messi and France’s Kylian Mbappe in the race for the Golden Boot at this World Cup. His recent strikes have seen him now score in each of his last 14 competitive international games for Norway.
This was the Norwegian’s third multi-goal game in this World Cup, leaving him tied for third most all-time in a single edition. Only two players had more in a single edition: Just Fontaine (4 in 1958) and Sandor Kocsis (4 in 1954).
Haaland is only the second player to score in his first four appearances of their debut World Cup, with Peruvian Teofilo Cubillas being the other to do so in the 1970 World Cup.
Haaland’s goal tally of 7 in this edition is the most by a player in his debut World Cup since Poland’s Grzegorz Lato in 1974 (7). Even, he now has more goals (7) in his debut WC than Kylian Mbappe (4), Lionel Messi (1), and Cristiano Ronaldo (1) had combined in their debut tournaments (6).
The Manchester City star is the first Norwegian player to score two goals in a knockout match in a major international tournament, whilst all three examples of a Norway player scoring 2+ goals in a match at a major tournament in any round are all Haaland at the 2026 World Cup (with braces against Brazil, Senegal, and Iraq).
Haaland is averaging a goal every 14 touches this tournament, which is the fewest of any player over the last 60 years who has scored 3 or more goals in a single edition of the World Cup.
Solbakken’s side now hasn’t won a game without Haaland getting on the scoresheet for almost three years. The most recent outing like that was a 2-0 win against the Faroe Islands in November of 2023, and on that eve, Haaland just came on as a second-half substitute.
Norway will face England in a mouth-watering quarterfinal match on Sunday, July 12, with Solbakken hopeful his star forward will once again be the difference for the Scandinavians.
Written by Madhav Sachdeva, an intern with the online sports desk
Norway's Erling Haaland (9) poses after the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Ivory Coast and Norway in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo) 
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