Scandinavian Solidarity Department:
“I will be rooting enthusiastically for our Norwegian neighbours while rowing in my armchair,” writes Lars Bøgegaard. “The Swedes has been to a World Cup-final and reached two semifinals, while we Danes got to the quarterfinals in 1998 losing narrowly 3-2 against … Brazil. Now it’s Norway’s turn to experience the sheer happiness, I hope.”
So … anyone want to talk about Folarin Balogun? It was an idiotic decision to give him a red card. But once he was suspended, the decision should have stuck. The Belgian FA are rightly fuming, and Gianni knows what they’re going to say if Balogun scores a 90th minute winner. The US were winning some neutrals around, but most of the world outside the States will be cheering on Belgium for now. I imagine there will be some anger among Fifa delegates who already believe richer nations get preferential treatment.
Matt Emerson emails in: “I really hope that Julian Ryerson’s nickname is Ned.” Oh, you mean Needle Nose Ned? Ned the Head? That guy?
JULIAN Ryerson will have his work cut out today. He’ll be dealing with Vini and Martinelli cutting in from the left, and will also be a threat at set-pieces along with Odergaard.
Norway, by the way, have never lost to Brazil. In the four previous matches between these two teams, there have been two Norwegian wins and two draws. The teams have met once in the World Cup, when Norway beat Brazil 2-1 in 1998 (caveat: it was the final game of the group stage and Brazil had already qualified).
Norway coach Stale Solbakken played in that 1998 game and is sort of confident they can repeat that result. Maybe. Kind of. Perhaps.
“Brazil are favourites, of course they are, but we are hopeful that we will give them a match, and we are not playing the game for fun – we are playing to win the game and to reach the quarterfinals,” said Solbakken. “It’s possible, but it’s very difficult.”
It’s Peter Oh’s music interlude:
“In the buildup to this match I’ve been listening to Gilberto Gil’s 1998 album O Sol de Oslo - The Sun of Oslo - an eclectic collaboration of Brazilian and Norwegian musicians.
“In the closing track ‘Oslodum’ - a nod to the legendary percussion group Olodum in the city of Salvador in Brazil’s northeast - Gil affectionately sings about Norway as the terra do bacalhau - the land of cod.
“Who knows how the match will play out. A new hand of God or the land of cod? A goalkeeper howler and the hand of cod? In any case, one team will win and the other will row home, I mean go home. No matter what, the sun will rise again in Oslo tomorrow.”
Weather watch
We’ll have no repeat of the crushing heat of France v Senegal in Philadelphia yesterday. It’s muggy and overcast here in New York City today (only nine hours from New York/New Jersey Stadium by public transport!) but significantly cooler than yesterday. I’m not saying I’d want to chase around Vini and Haaland for 90 minutes in this heat (although it would mean I was a professional footballer and incredibly rich) but it’s manageable.
Teams
Norway and Brazil make one change each. Julian Ryerson is back from injury to slot in at full-back for the Norwegians while the injured Lucas Paqueta is replaced by Gabriel Martinelli for Brazil.
Brazil: Alisson, da Silva Danilo, Marquinhos, Gabriel, Douglas Santos, Rayan, Guimaraes, Casemiro, Martinelli, Cunha, Vinicius Junior. Subs: Weverton, Ederson, Ederson Silva, Alex Sandro, Neymar, Raphinha, Bremer, Leo Pereira, Fabinho, dos Santos Danilo, Endrick, Luiz Henrique, Ibanez, Thiago.
Norway: Nyland, Ryerson, Ajer, Heggem, Wolfe, Odegaard, Berge, Berg, Sorloth, Haaland, Nusa. Subs: Tangvik, Selvik, Thorsby, Ostigard, Larsen, Aursnes, Bjorkan, Thorstvedt, Aasgaard, Schjelderup, Bobb, Hauge, Langas, Falchener.
Referee: Ismail Elfath (USA)
Updated
Leander Schaerlaeckens is at New York/New Jersey Stadium for us today and has some crowd news.
“Judging by the crowd filling into the arena here, it’s entirely possible that yellow is the only color that exists,” he writes.
Preamble
Hello! It’s the dark horses v the thoroughbreds today as Norway take on five-time champions Brazil for a place in the quarter-finals. There’s been a growing feeling in the last few days that Brazil are there for the taking – partly due to Norway’s impressive showings so far (apart from against France, when they rested their best players), Brazil’s fine-not-great finishes at the last two World Cups, THAT semi-final in 2014 and their problems against Japan and Morocco at this tournament. We shall see if those concerns are valid very soon…
Tom will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s Graham Ruthven with a short preview of today’s game:
Brazil are far from a perfect team, but Carlo Ancelotti is finding solutions to their problems. The comeback win over Japan in the round of 32 highlighted the quality of a team that was written off by some early in the tournament. This might not be a vintage Brazil outfit, but with Ancelotti in charge they have momentum.
Norway also have momentum after seeing off Ivory Coast in the last round. Most encouraging for Stale Solbakken was that Haaland and Martin Odegaard didn’t even play all that way. Instead, the likes of Antonio Nusa and Oscar Bobb stepped up to get Norway through. They’re more than just a one (or two) man team.
Player to watch: Vinicius Junior, Brazil - There will be no shortage of star power in New Jersey for this match, but Vinicius could be the most electrifying, and influential, player for either team. If the winger turns up, Brazil could have the edge.
