Key events<\/p>\n
Justin Kavanagh on the Balogun red\/non-red: \u201cWhatever the merits or otherwise of the Balogun red card, presidential pardons have no place in football\u201d.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Just a reminder that Gabriel and Haaland should enjoy meeting up again today:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Tim Exton has some thoughts on the Balogun situation.<\/p>\n \u201cLike you, I believe it was a harsh red but I disagree that it needed to stand! That said, there should be an expedited appeals procedure, rather than it being left to the all-too-Fifa-ish behind closed doors reconsideration.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fact Trump celebrated it, when the future likes of Balogun would be denied US citizenship, is just the icing on the Corruption Gateaux (sounded more fancy than the alliterative \u2018Cake\u2019)!\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Joakim Nysn\u00f8 writes in. I think maaaaaybe he\u2019s a Norway<\/a> fan:<\/p>\n \u201cI cannot believe how anxiously giddy I am before our match against Brazil \u2013 almost to the point of missing the days when a Norway game was a great excuse to not watch football that evening. Lars Sivertsen\u2019s piece<\/a> really took me back to that euphoric Saint John\u2019s Eve in 1998, being 11 year old and feeling like the whole country roared in unison as \u201cOur Best Men\u201d beat the best team in the world, in what many still consider to be our greatest sporting achievement. (Never mind that Brazil had already secured the top spot in the group and had little to play for.) But the article also reminded me of how alone and isolated I felt when watching that entirely forgettable round-of-16 game against Italy \u2013 our heroes \u201cexposed\u201d as toothless, inferior and, most of all, boring. I\u2019m really proud of the fact that, win or lose, this group of players will not be that. And the fact that there\u2019s a decent chance that they repeat the feat \u2013 this time against a Brazilian team with a point to prove? No matter what, the memories of this night will be happy ones! Heia Norge!<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n By the way, if you\u2019re interested in reading more about Norway\u2019s win against Brazil in 1998, I would highly recommend Lars Siversten\u2019s piece from Friday in this very publication:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Scandinavian Solidarity Department:<\/p>\n \u201cI will be rooting enthusiastically for our Norwegian neighbours while rowing in my armchair,\u201d writes Lars B\u00f8gegaard. \u201cThe 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 \u2026 Brazil. Now it\u2019s Norway\u2019s turn to experience the sheer happiness, I hope.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n So \u2026 anyone want to talk about Folarin Balogun<\/a>? 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\u2019re 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.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Matt Emerson emails in: \u201cI really hope that Julian Ryerson\u2019s nickname is Ned.\u201d Oh, you mean Needle Nose Ned? Ned the Head? That guy?<\/p>\n JULIAN Ryerson will have his work cut out today. He\u2019ll be dealing with Vini and Martinelli cutting in from the left, and will also be a threat at set-pieces along with Odergaard.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 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<\/a>, when Norway beat Brazil 2-1 in 1998 (caveat: it was the final game of the group stage and Brazil had already qualified).<\/p>\n Norway coach Stale Solbakken played in that 1998 game and is sort of confident they can repeat that result. Maybe. Kind of. Perhaps.<\/p>\n \u201cBrazil 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 \u2013 we are playing to win the game and to reach the quarterfinals,\u201d said Solbakken. \u201cIt\u2019s possible, but it\u2019s very difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s Peter Oh\u2019s music interlude:<\/p>\n \u201cIn the buildup to this match I\u2019ve been listening to Gilberto Gil\u2019s 1998 album O Sol de Oslo – The Sun of Oslo – an eclectic collaboration of Brazilian and Norwegian musicians.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the closing track \u2018Oslodum\u2019 – a nod to the legendary percussion group Olodum in the city of Salvador in Brazil\u2019s northeast – Gil affectionately sings about Norway<\/a> as the terra do bacalhau – the land of cod.<\/p>\n \u201cWho 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Weather watch<\/p>\n We\u2019ll have no repeat of the crushing heat of France v Senegal in Philadelphia yesterday. It\u2019s 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\u2019m not saying I\u2019d 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\u2019s manageable.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Teams<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Referee: Ismail Elfath (USA)<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.05 EDT<\/p>\n Leander Schaerlaeckens is at New York\/New Jersey Stadium for us today and has some crowd news.<\/p>\n \u201cJudging by the crowd filling into the arena here, it\u2019s entirely possible that yellow is the only color that exists,\u201d he writes.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Preamble<\/p>\n Hello! It\u2019s the dark horses v the thoroughbreds today as Norway take on five-time champions Brazil for a place in the quarter-finals. There\u2019s been a growing feeling in the last few days that Brazil are there for the taking \u2013 partly due to Norway\u2019s impressive showings so far (apart from against France, when they rested their best players), Brazil\u2019s 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\u2026<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Tom will be here shortly. In the meantime, here\u2019s Graham Ruthven with a short preview of today\u2019s game:<\/p>\n 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<\/a> outfit, but with Ancelotti in charge they have momentum.<\/p>\n 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\u2019t even play all that way. Instead, the likes of Antonio Nusa and Oscar Bobb stepped up to get Norway<\/a> through. They\u2019re more than just a one (or two) man team.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n