Source :- THE AGE NEWS
It’s a brace for the big man.
Brazil 0-1 Norway, 89 minutes
A ball over the top and a clearance gone wrong forces Nyland into a fingertip save that is as top drawer as you’ll ever see. Some scare that was.
Casemiro, then, for good measure, shoots wide.
Two almost-equalisers.
Brazil 0-1 Norway, 88 minutes
He hasn’t been given an inch all game, but who else really was going to give Norway a critical goal here? And only 10 minutes from the end of regulation time. Schjelderup whips in a cross and Haaland leaps higher than Gabriel to bury a header past Alisson for his sixth goal of the tournament – one behind joint golden boot leaders Messi and Mbappe.
The waist-coated Ancelotti is chewing his gum at double time now.
Brazil 0-1 Norway, 80 minutes
He’s on, replacing Martinelli. And then he’s back off in the blink of an eye because the referee has called for the final hydration break. Ancelotti also replaces Rayan with Santos.
Time is ticking now. What can these fresh legs do? Brazil still look the more capable of scoring but the Norwegians are most certainly holding their own. Odegaard is almost doing a Houdini in some tight areas. It could absolutely go either way. Or it could go to extra-time.
Speaking of Norway, they’ve just done a Brazil and burst free on the counter and Alisson makes a terrific save to deny Schjelderup.
Brazil 0-0 Norway, 76 minutes
The headline should probably be about the would-be assist from Vini jnr, though, because that was a pass you could watch on repeat all day. He picks up the ball around the halfway line after Casemiro robs Norway of possession inside their third. Then, off the outside of his right boot, he dispatches a bending, swerving through ball that dodges every player it needs to and finds the right one.
The right one is Endrick who was subbed on two minutes earlier for Cunha (had still been writing this when this happened). Nyland is off his line and he has a free goal at which to shoot, but his first touch is heavy and leaves him in a battle with the onrushing Nyland to get the ball away before the keeper can grab it. He does, but skews it wide of the post.
After this, Nyland denies Rayan from distance and Ryerson is replaced by Aursnes.
Brazil 0-0 Norway, 66 minutes
And Norway have made two changes, replacing both wide men Nusa and Sorloth with Bobb and Schjelderup. It is obviously difficult to measure the effect of these substitutions so early on, but Norway do appear to be giving the ball away less, stringing together more passes in a composed manner. Brazil, it has to be said, are allowing them to do this. The combination of both nothing much is happening.
Brazil 0-0 Norway, 55 minutes
A weird first half for the Norwegians, who have enjoyed two-thirds possession but are also coughing it up like hunks of phlegm during a bad bout of the flu (sorry, again). This is allowing Brazil to race off on those counter-attacks that are starting to feel a bit inevitable.
For Norway going forward, it’s long-ball central. And yet … they could have been a goal up but for that correct offside call in the fourth minute. Having said that, they could also be a goal down but for Guimaraes’ failure to convert that penalty – apparently the first Brazil player to miss one at the World Cup since 1986. That was the year before I was born, folks, and let me tell you that was a while ago.
Haaland hasn’t had much of the ball (10 touches, to be precise) because of the above, but he is still positioning himself well and, as we know, only needs a half-moment.
Odegaard, however, has been almost everywhere and should really have scored in stoppage-time. With time and space, he took a shot easily smothered by Alisson. That was their best chance of the half.
Brazil have been attacking with not only more impetus but also more skill. Vini jnr in particular has been running … do I actually say this … rampant? If you can think of a more intelligent description for his attacking prowess please be my guest. Let’s just say he’s looking good. He’s being given way too much space, mind you, but he loses Norway’s defence and is unfortunate that the ball is faster than him and cannot be caught before going out for a goal kick.
As the clock ticks past the 40-minute mark he pinches possession from Odegaard and nips into Norway’s box to shoot towards the centre of goal. Nyland has to make a solid save to stop that.
Martinelli, too, has been threatening. Poor maligned Martinelli, who was practically heckled when substituted on against Japan in the round of 32 but then went on to score the winner to get Brazil to this point in the first place. That guy has been active and, around the half-hour mark – just after the hydration break – loses his man and drives into the box for a low shot. Nyland is lurking near his near post and sticks a boot out before exhaling heavily (I imagine).
There are six minutes of added time, and no goal.
