EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Ståle Solbakken knows everything Norway’s stunning upset over Brazil During the 1998 World Cup. He was a substitute at Marseille, watching from the sidelines as his teammates achieved perhaps the greatest victory in men’s football in the history of the Scandinavian country.
Now the national team coach, he also knows that Sunday’s round of 16 match against Brazil will be very different from that group play match nearly 30 years ago, when there was nothing to play for against a strong opponent. A place in the quarter-finals is on the line this time around, and Solbakken admits it would be surprising for Norway to defeat the five-time World Cup champions, but it is a realistic possibility in a more even matchup.
“I still think Brazil are the clear favorites, but I don’t think they’re big, big, huge favorites, which might have been the case a few years ago,” Solbakken said at a press conference ahead of the game on Saturday. “We still have to do our best. If we don’t, we don’t have a chance. But if we do our best, we have a chance.”
Oddsmakers are backing the 58-year-old’s assessment, with Brazil set to face the winner of the big match between Mexico and England on the outskirts of Miami on July 11 as slight favorites to advance. The Selecao have won three consecutive games since the start of the season. draw with moroccoalso in the Meadowlands of northern New Jersey.
Norway achieved their own victory at a stadium outside New York. win against senegal to advance to the knockout round. Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti described Norway as a challenging opponent not only in terms of talent but also in terms of structure.
“They have great players,” Brazil midfielder Bruno Guimarães said through an interpreter. “It’s no coincidence that they’re in the finals. It’s not that we don’t respect Norway. We just believe in our football. We believe in our country and we want to continue this dream.”
Norway’s Erling Haaland and Brazil’s Vinicius Junior are the rising stars.
Outstanding Norwegian striker Erling Haaland has scored five goals in the World Cup, 25 in his last 14 international matches and 60 in 53 national team matches. His next task will be to shake up Brazil’s backline duo of Gabriel Magalhães and Marquinhos, whom Solbakken called one of the best central defenders.
“There will certainly be a tough battle between them and Erling,” Solbakken said. “But for me it’s about Brazil vs. Norway, not the two games against Erling.”
Brazil, on the other hand, have a dangerous forward trio: Vinicius Jr.. He and Matheus Cunha have combined for seven goals through four games.
Asked to compare the 6-foot-5, 205-pound Haaland to the 5-foot-9, 170-pound player known as “Vini,” Solbakken said, “One is a machine with acceleration and great physique, and the other is a ballerina who can dance with the ball.”
Guimarães called Haaland one of the best attacking players in the world, placing him in the same stratosphere as England’s Harry Kane.
“He’s really a different person,” Guimarães said. “We have to mark and attack. We have to attack but we have to make sure someone stays on him because he can decide the game with one ball and we don’t want him to have the ball.”
feel the heat
Since Norway joined Brazil in training in New Jersey this week, teams have been exposed to the following elements: intense heat wave east coast. Solbakken said the players can’t play at full speed because of temperatures reaching 37 degrees Celsius (99 degrees Fahrenheit), but are otherwise shaking off the effects.
“It’s unbelievably hot, but we’re still full of energy,” Solbakken said. “This is a group of friends who have spent a lot of time together and it feels great. In fact, we don’t notice the heat at all.”
Guimarães expects heat to be a factor on Sunday, with rain expected to fall overnight and temperatures to drop to 85 degrees Celsius (29.44 degrees Celsius) with a chance of rain and thunderstorms.
Brazil are not expected to sign Lucas Paqueta
Brazil midfielder Lucas Paqueta limped off at half-time Round 32 Japan matchis not expected to play due to a hamstring injury.
“There is no other player in the team with the same characteristics as Lucas Paqueta, so we have to look for another player,” Ancelotti said, declining to reveal his plans.
Norwegian defender Julian Ryerson, who was forced off with an injury early in the match against Senegal on June 22, is a candidate to return. He hasn’t played since, and Solbakken was similarly tight-lipped about his lineup, other than to say he expected Alexander Soros and Oskar Bobb to play at some point.
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