Norway are approaching their World Cup round-of-16 clash against five-time champions Brazil with a mix of realism and confidence. Head coach Stale Solbakken has acknowledged Brazil are favorites on paper but said football does not always follow the script.
Norway face Brazil at 2am Bangladesh time Sunday at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. At the pre-match press conference, Solbakken said beating Brazil is not impossible but will require his team to give everything.
“Brazil are still favorites. Maybe not as heavy favorites as before. We know we have a chance to beat them. But to do that, we have to play our absolute best on the pitch,” the Norway coach said.
After an impressive group stage, Norway now face their biggest test. Solbakken identified Brazil’s multi-dimensional attacking options as the main challenge.
“They have attackers who can create different combinations. They can play with four attacking players, as they did in the second half against Japan. How well we handle that pressure will be the key factor,” he said.
Solbakken acknowledged that beating a footballing powerhouse like Brazil would rank as one of the tournament’s biggest upsets. Asked directly, he said: “Yes, absolutely. I think that would be a major surprise.”
Another subplot is the potential duel between Erling Haaland and Brazilian defender Gabriel Magalhaes, though Solbakken emphasized team performance over individual matchups.
“Brazil’s center-back pairing of Gabriel Magalhaes and Marquinhos is world-class. But this is not about individual duels. Ultimately, this is Brazil versus Norway,” he added.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report