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Brazil and Norway will face off in one of the most exciting matchups of the Round of 16 in the when they meet on Sunday, July 5, in a knockout match that will secure a ticket to the quarter-finals.
How Brazil arrived
La Canarinha finished the group stage as the leader of Group C with 7 points and a goal difference of +6, resulting from seven goals scored and only one conceded. Their journey included a 1-1 draw against Morocco in the opening match, a 3-0 victory over Haiti, and a 3-0 win against Scotland in the finale, which secured their undefeated first place.
In the round of sixteen, the team led by Carlo Ancelotti staged a dramatic comeback against Japan on Monday at NRG Stadium in Houston. Brazil fell behind 0-1 with a goal from Kaishu Sano in the 29th minute, equalized with a header from Casemiro in the 56th minute, and secured qualification with a goal from Gabriel Martinelli in the 95th minute, assisted by Endrick.
Ancelotti acknowledged after the match that he was about to make changes before the comeback happened: "I was going to bring Neymar in at the 60-minute mark...", declared the Italian coach according to TUDN.
How Norway arrived
The Scandinavians finished second in Group I with 6 points and a goal difference of +1, scoring eight goals and conceding seven. Their results in the group stage were a 4-1 victory against Iraq, a 3-2 win over Senegal, and a 1-4 loss to France, in which Ousmane Dembélé scored a hat-trick for the French team, who topped the group with a perfect record.
Erling Haaland was the standout Scandinavian player in that phase with four goals, including braces against Iraq and Senegal, establishing himself as the main offensive threat for his national team.
In the sixteenths, Norway defeated Ivory Coast 1-0 this Tuesday at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, with a goal from Antonio Nusa in the 46th minute as the only score of the match.
A historic return for Norway
This match holds special significance for the Norwegian national team: they haven't contested a Round of 16 match in a World Cup since France 1998, 28 years ago, when they were eliminated by Italy. Their qualification for the tournament was largely driven by Haaland, the top scorer in the European qualifying rounds with 16 goals, and the Manchester City forward arrives at the clash against Brazil as one of the most in-form players of the championship.
Brazil, for its part, boasts five world titles and arrives as one of the favorites for the championship under Ancelotti's guidance. The match on July 5 will see the South American powerhouse, which did not lose a single game in the group stage, face off against Norway, which is returning to the elite of world football with Haaland as its standard-bearer and the hope of extending its historic participation in the tournament.
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