Brazil are considered the favorites in this round of 16 match, but they face a psychological challenge: Norway is one of only three teams to have never lost to Brazil in history. In four head-to-head encounters, the Norwegians have won two and drawn two, including a famous 2-1 victory in the 1998 World Cup group stage. However, this year's Norway has advanced from the group stage for the first time in history and even made it past the first round of the knockout round. Although Erling Haaland, with five goals, is the main threat to any defense, the striker himself assesses his team's chances as "very slim."
Brazil's defense is indeed solid (they've conceded only two goals in four matches), but Norway scores an average of 2.5 goals per game and has scored in every single match. Norway, however, has serious problems at the back—they've conceded eight goals, and "both teams have scored" in 100% of their matches so far this tournament.
Considering that Brazil is unlikely to want to play a closed game against a weaker team, and Norway's attack, led by Haaland, is capable of punishing any mistake, the most logical bet seems to be "both teams to score." Brazil will press and create chances, but Norway also has every chance to score on the counterattack, as they already did in matches against Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal.
