Norway 2-1 Brazil
Haaland brace ensures the Norwegians advance to the quarterfinals.
Norway controlled the game although they did not create many chances in the first half. Brazil created several chances, including a penalty in the 12th minute. To most people’s surprise, Vini Jr. was not the one to take it but Bruno Guimarães. He played a weak pass to the right side of the goal which goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland saved, keeping the game scoreless.
Brazil would have another scoring chance when Vini Jr. played a perfect through pass to Endrick. However, Endrick was too concerned with switching the ball to his preferred left foot and missed his one-on-one chance.
Norway scored first with a classic Haaland header. He was able to out-jump defender Gabriel Magalhães and placed it out of the reach of Alisson and into the bottom right corner of the goal. Brazil did not know how to respond and ended up playing more defense, eventually letting in another goal.
In the 90th minute, Haaland found himself with the ball just outside the box. There were three defenders around him, yet none of them thought to approach him. Haaland shot through the legs of one defender and into the bottom right corner. It was a perfectly placed shot.
After 10 minutes of additional time, Brazil were awarded another penalty when Casemiro took an elbow to the face inside the box. This time Neymar took and converted the penalty, sending Nyland the wrong way and saving Brazil from the embarrassment of a goalless loss.
It was a disappointing performance from Brazil, not just in this match but throughout the tournament. They had no identity. It felt as though there were 11 players on the field only playing for themselves and not each other. I think not bringing on Neymar until late was a mistake. Endrick seems to bolster the attacking mindset of the team and barely using him was the wrong call. Until Brazil find a true captain and utilize the right players, this type of exit will become commonplace.
Norway advances to the quarterfinals where they will play England on July 11 at 5 p.m. ET.
England 3-2 Mexico
10-man England hangs on to lead and eliminates Mexico.
The only thing that was calm about this match was the first 30 minutes. After that we saw five goals, two penalties and one red card.
Jude Bellingham scored first and second, with only two minutes in between his brace. The first came in the 36th minute off a diving header and the second was a tap-in off a great cross by captain Harry Kane.
Mexico got a goal back right before halftime when Julián Quiñones was left unmarked in the box to volley in a rebound off a free kick.
The second half started with English right back Jarell Quansah getting sent off for a studs-up tackle. England then caught a break six minutes later when Anthony Gordon was taken down in the box by Mexican goalkeeper Raúl Rangel. It was Kane who converted, delivering a powerful shot into the left side netting.
As if to even things out, nine minutes later Mexico was awarded a penalty after Harry Kane got to a ball late and kicked the bottom of Brian Gutiérrez’s cleat. Raúl Jiménez converted to give Mexico a goal back.
The rest of the game, including the 11 minutes of added time, England would defend their lead to secure their advancement.
England advances to the quarterfinals where they will face Norway on July 11 at 5 p.m. ET.
As always, stay tuned to Futbolhijo.com for in-depth coverage of the biggest World Cup yet. Check back for my next article, where I will be covering matches and news that occur throughout the tournament. You can also read my previous article where I covered Morocco and France’s advancement.
Cover Photo: Norway and England Advance. NOTE: Image generated using the prompt “generate me an image that matches the following 2026 world cup article title: Norway and England advance to the quarterfinals,” by OpenAI, ChatGPT, 2026 (https://chatgpt.com/).
