We’re going to need a bigger longboat. Norway are into the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the first time, progressing thanks to the man whose smile, and choice in cowboy apparel, has charmed the US. Erling Haaland delivered again for his country, scoring two goals in the last 10 minutes – his sixth and seventh of the tournament – to send Brazil home and keep the Viking invasion rolling on.
The result is a massive vindication for Ståle Solbakken and the team he has built over the past half decade. Norway set out to dominate Brazil in the first half, without much in the way of success. A double substitution at half-time changed all that, with Norway able to carve open a Brazil side who had their chances but failed to take them.