Erling Haaland showed his world-class credentials on soccer’s grandest stage, scoring a clutch second-half brace to guide Norway into the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time in their history with a stunning 2-1 win over five-time champions Brazil on Monday.Despite being heavily leased and starved of service for most of the afternoon, the towering striker delivered when it mattered. The collapse came in the 80th minute when half-time substitute Andreas Schjelderup delivered a good cross, allowing Haaland to head home a superb header.The duo combined again in the dying minutes of regulation time, with Schjelderup setting up Haaland for his second of the night. The strike took his tally at the tournament to seven goals – tying him with Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé and extending his incredible international scoring streak to 14 consecutive competitions.While Haaland stole the headlines, veteran goalkeeper Orjan Nyland was the unsung hero for Norway. The 35-year-old set the tone early by diving low to his left to deny Bruno Guimaraes’ 14th-minute penalty kick. Late in the game, with Norway holding a one-goal lead, Nyland made an incredible one-handed save to deny rising star Endrick. The only blemish on his fine performance came deep into stoppage time when Neymar converted a consolation penalty kick, which proved to be too little, too late for the Selecao.The exit in Brazil marked a huge underachievement for a team that carried “win-or-bust” expectations. The global powerhouse saw their streak of eight consecutive quarterfinal appearances snapped, crashing out before the last-eight stage for the first time since 1990. In addition, the loss extended Brazil’s miserable run against European opposition at the World Cup, marking their seventh straight knockout loss to teams from the continent since the 2002 final.Stale Solbakken’s tactical masterclass reaped rewards as Norway showed just how much they have improved on the global stage. They will now head to Miami Gardens, Florida, to face the winner of the round-of-16 clash between England and Mexico.