EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) 鈥� Erling Haaland scored, and Andreas Schjelderup jumped on his teammate’s back. Haaland scored again, and Schjelderup leapt up again.
Heading in the go-ahead goal in the 80th minute and scoring again before the end of regulation time, Haaland put Norway on his back and carried it into quarterfinals for the first time with a 2-1 defeat of Brazil on Sunday that showcased on soccer鈥檚 biggest stage.
“Maybe this will write history in Norway,” Haaland said. 鈥淓veryone just need to enjoy themselves. This is just an insane day. It鈥檚 one of the most insane days in Norwegian history. Just enjoy it, embrace it and enjoy the moment.鈥�
After being a nonfactor for much of the afternoon and having limited touches, Haaland spoke at the second-half hydration break with coach St氓le Solbakken, who told him to drain his energy and go for it.
Haaland turned it on when it mattered most, getting the right side of his head on the ball after a perfect setup by Andreas Schjelderup, who entered at halftime. Haaland scored 10 minutes later for his seventh of the tournament, tying Argentina鈥檚 Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbapp茅 of France in the race for the Golden Boot.
鈥淚t felt it was a gift from God that it actually went into the net,鈥� Haaland said after scoring in a 14th consecutive competitive match internationally. He has 27 in that stretch and 62 in 54 with Norway.
At the other end, goalkeeper 脴rjan Nyland was stellar. He made a crucial stop early, diving to his left to deny Bruno Guimar茫es鈥� penalty kick in the 14th minute, then got his left hand on a shot by Endrick late when Norway was hanging on to a one-goal lead.
The only goal Nyland allowed was to Neymar on a penalty kick late in stoppage time, which changed just the final score.
Nyland, who at 35 is his team鈥檚 oldest player, was a huge factor in a historic victory that ranks among the most significant in the country鈥檚 history 鈥� at least on the men鈥檚 side. Norway鈥檚 women鈥檚 team won the World Cup in 1995, but the men have only qualified four times and not since 1998. They had not gone further than the round of 16.
“I think that all Norwegian citizens are experiencing the night of a lifetime,” Solbakken said. 鈥淪ome people say that we have changed Norway forever. Probably, they will party for a week or so.鈥�
Norway next faces the winner of the on Saturday in Miami Gardens, Florida. Solbakken said he had more than a dozen friends already book travel to South Florida.
Guimar茫es became the first Brazil player not to score on a World Cup penalty kick since Zico in 1986. The decision to have him take it instead of star Vin铆cius J煤nior brought immediate second-guessing and may be questioned and criticized for quite some time.
There were plenty of other missed opportunities, including Casemiro missing Neymar on a crossing attempt on what could have been the tying goal.
鈥淲e really fell short in the opportunities that we did create,鈥� captain Marquinhos said. 鈥淲e had a penalty kick, we had some other chances as well, but here鈥檚 the World Cup for you. Those that make the least mistakes are able to move forward to the next round, and to be victorious.鈥�
Brazil goes home having massively underachieved expectations set pretty much at win or bust for the five-time World Cup champions. The global powerhouse had its streak of quarterfinal appearances at the tournament end at eight, losing before that stage for the first time since 1990.
It was Brazil鈥檚 seventh consecutive loss to European opponents in the knockout round at the World Cup, dating to beating Germany in the 2002 final. The absence of injured midfielder Lucas Paquet谩 did not help, even though Gabriel Martinelli showed off his speed at times after being coach Carlo Ancelotti鈥檚 choice to go into the starting lineup.
Norway got defender Julian Ryerson back from his injury that sidelined him the past two games, and Solbakken was rewarded for making changes at halftime by Schjelderup setting up each of Haaland鈥檚 goals.
鈥淒uring the game, you have to take the calls decisions that you feel are appropriate,鈥� Solbakken said. “It鈥檚 a gut feeling that Oscar (Bobb) and Andreas might make a difference, and I felt more secure with them on the pitch the way I wanted us to play the second half, and then you saw what happened.”
Those moves played a role in the upset, though this one was not nearly as massive as the group stage in 1998. Norway showed how much it had evolved as a soccer nation since then, with knocking off Brazil the latest step in that process.
Yellow-clad Sele莽茫o fans outnumbered those in Norway red, many of whom did the now-famous Viking Row in the stands 鈥� with Brazil supporters even cheering it before kickoff. Brazil’s fans were stunned silent when it returned after the game, with Haaland banging the drum and leading the celebration.
“I鈥檝e peaked a couple of times during this tournament, but this was a new peak,” Haaland said.
Also in the sellout crowd of 80,663 were rapper Jay-Z, comedian Chris Rock, actor Woody Harrelson, actress Sof铆a Vergara and basketball player of the , who elicited a healthy roar when he was shown on video screens.
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