History has repeated itself on the grandest stage of football as Brazil suffered a shocking elimination at the hands of Norway in the World Cup knockout stage. Replicating the iconic clash from 28 years ago, the South American giants faltered yet again against the disciplined European side, slumped to a painful 1-2 defeat. The intense nature of the match was evident right from the opening whistle. Norway managed to find the back of the net as early as the third minute of the game, but Brazil survived the early scare as the goal was quickly ruled out for offside.
Brazil were presented with a golden opportunity to break the deadlock in the 10th minute when they were awarded a penalty following a heavy foul on Matheus Cunha. However, Bruno Guimaraes failed to convert from the spot, with Norwegian goalkeeper Orjan Nyland stepping up to become a major roadblock for the Brazilian attackers from that moment onward. Despite launching relentless waves of attacks, the Selecao failed to penetrate the opposition’s defense. The second half commenced at a relatively slower pace for both teams. A crucial moment arose when substitute Endrick found himself in a one-on-one situation with only the goalkeeper to beat, but shockingly hit the ball wide off the mark.
The decisive breakthrough came in the 79th minute when star striker Erling Haaland, who was tightly marked by the Brazilian defenders until then, finally broke free to score a magnificent header, putting Norway in front. As the regulation time neared its end, Haaland capitalized on a glaring defensive blunder by the opposition to strike his second goal of the night, completely sealing Brazil’s fate. During the injury time, substitute Neymar Jr. successfully converted a late penalty, but the consolation goal brought no celebration as the final whistle blew immediately after. With this historic triumph, Norway advanced to the World Cup quarter-finals for the very first time, while five-time champions Brazil crashed out before reaching the final eight stage for the first time since 1990, leaving millions of fans worldwide utterly devastated.
ലഘു വിവരണം ലോകകപ്പിൽ ബ്രസീലിനെ ഒന്നിനെതിരെ രണ്ട് ഗോളുകൾക്ക് തകർത്ത് നോർവേ ചരിത്രത്തിലാദ്യമായി ക്വാർട്ടർ ഫൈനലിൽ പ്രവേശിച്ചു. മത്സരത്തിൽ ലഭിച്ച പെനാൽറ്റി ഗുമറൈസ് പുറത്തേക്ക് കളഞ്ഞത് ബ്രസീലിന് തിരിച്ചടിയായി. 79-ാം മിനിറ്റിലും കളി അവസാനിക്കാനിരിക്കെയും സൂപ്പർ താരം ഏർലിൻ ഹാലൻഡ് നേടിയ ഇരട്ട ഗോളുകളാണ് നോർവെയ്ക്ക് ചരിത്ര വിജയം സമ്മാനിച്ചത്. ഇൻജുറി ടൈമിൽ പെനാൽറ്റിയിലൂടെ നെയ്മർ ഒരു ഗോൾ മടക്കിയെങ്കിലും ബ്രസീലിന്റെ പുറത്താകൽ ഒഴിവാക്കാനായില്ല. 1990-ന് ശേഷം ആദ്യമായാണ് ക്വാർട്ടർ കാണാതെ ബ്രസീൽ മടങ്ങുന്നത്.
(With inputs from MN)
For more details: Navamalayalam.com