This website uses cookies

Read our Privacy policy and Terms of use for more information.

WORLD CUP

Beating Norway is Brazil's task on Sunday. But style points matter

Stricker Vini Jr. during Brazil's 3-0 win over Scotland. Photo: Rafael Ribeiro/CBF

Norway occupies a strange corner of Brazil's football history. In four meetings since 1988 — two draws and two Norwegian wins — the Scandinavians have become the only national team to face the five-time world champions more than twice and never lose. 

The list includes a 2-1 defeat at the 1998 World Cup, where Bebeto scored for Brazil and Tore André Flo and Kjetil Rekdal replied. On Sunday at 5 pm (Brasília time) in New Jersey, in the round of 16, Brazil can finally settle the account against a Norway now featuring Erling Haaland.

Erasing that anomaly would satisfy most footballing nations. Brazil is not most footballing nations. The country that treats football as a means of national self-expression wants…

🔒 This was a free preview; the rest is behind our paywall

Don’t miss out! Upgrade to unlock full access. The process takes only seconds with Apple Pay or Stripe. Become a member.

Why you should subscribe

We’re here for readers who want to truly understand Brazil and Latin America — a region too often ignored or misrepresented by the international media.

Since 2017, our reporting has been powered by paid subscribers. They’re the reason we can keep a full-time team of journalists across Brazil and Argentina, delivering sharp, independent coverage every day.

If you value our work, subscribing is the best way to keep it going — and growing.

You already back us. Here's why we're asking for more

You're already a subscriber — which means you've made a choice. You decided that understanding Brazil, accurately and ahead of the headlines, was worth paying for. Thank you. That choice is the reason we exist.

Every contribution above your subscription goes directly into journalism: the reporters and editors on the ground in São Paulo, Brasília, and Rio who file what parachute correspondents and recycled-wire intelligence simply can't. It's the difference between covering 2026 and covering it the way it deserves to be covered.

If The Brazilian Report has earned a place in how you read the country, consider giving beyond what you already pay. Whatever the amount, it funds the work — and it keeps it independent.

Reply

Avatar

or to participate