Norway produced one of the biggest upsets of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with Erling Haaland’s second-half brace powering a 2-1 victory over Brazil and sending the stunned South Americans crashing out in the Round of 16.
At the New York New Jersey Stadium, Brazil dominated possession and created numerous chances, but goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland stood firm with a series of vital saves—including an early first-half penalty stop from Bruno Guimarães after a VAR review—that kept Norway in the contest.
The Scandinavians grew in confidence after the break, and Haaland broke the deadlock in the 79th minute, leaping above the Brazilian defence to head home Andreas Schjelderup’s lofted cross. Brazil threw men forward in response, with Vinícius Júnior, Endrick and Casemiro all going close, but Norway’s defence held disciplined and threatened on the break.
In stoppage time, Schjelderup turned provider again, slipping a precise pass to Haaland on the edge of the box, and the Manchester City striker calmly slotted into the bottom-right corner for his second.
Neymar pulled one back from a late penalty, but it proved mere consolation as Norway sealed a famous victory and booked their quarter-final spot.
Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.
Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.
He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.
Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).
He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.
He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.
Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled: Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.
