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Group A - Brazil-Norway, Late Norway flurry stuns Brazil |
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With its future in the World Cup down to seven minutes, Norway scored twice, including a controversial penalty kick, to stun Brazil 2-1 Tuesday and move into the second round.
Kjetil Rekdal converted the 89th-minute penalty kick only six minutes after Tore Andre Flo got the tying goal. With the win, Norway handed the four-time Cup winners their first defeat.
U.S. referee Esfandiar Baharmast awarded the penalty kick, although replays showed little contact on the play.
"It was one of the best, definitely," Flo said. "We made history in Norway today."
Trailing 1-0 and looking like it was headed out after the first round, Flo gave Norway hope with a remarkable individual effort in the 83rd minute. Flo ran onto a long pass, one-touched it to the middle of the penalty area and beat goalkeeper Taffarel with a strike from 12 yards.
Then came the penalty, called on Junior Baiano for knocking down Flo as the two battled for position on a high ball. Replays indicated little contact on the play.
With Morocco beating Scotland 3-0 in Saint-Etienne and sure to advance from Group A with a Brazil victory or draw, Rekdal firmly struck his penalty kick into the lower left side of the net. Norway reached the second round of the World Cup for the first time in three tries.
"We came in overconfident against a rival we didn't know how would play against us," Brazilian coach Mario Zagallo said. "But we developed our soccer and will continue to do so."
The Norwegian reserves sprinted onto the field to hug and congratulate their teammates when they clinched a spot versus Italy on Saturday in Marseille.
The fans in Viking helmets and red-and-blue Norwegian flags refused to let their heroes leave the field at Stade Velodrome, and the team trotted around the field to salute their ecstatic supporters.
"It's incredible. I'm amazed at what happened," Norwegian coach Egil Olsen said.
Brazil controlled possession throughout and finally looked like the winner when Bebeto converted Denilson's cross with a header in the 78th minute.
Denilson fell, but still managed to keep possession, spin away from Norwegian defender Berg Henning and strike a left-footed cross chest high across the penalty area. Streaking through, Bebeto put his head onto the ball and directed it into the middle of the net.
"We were better, we created the chances, we deserved to win," Bebeto said. "But there are evils that come for the good. This will make us stronger. We lost when we could lose. We can't in the next round."
Brazil already had qualified for the second round, assured of winning Group A and a round of 16 meeting with Chile on Saturday in Paris.
But Brazil wanted this one. Stung by a 4-2 loss to Norway in a friendly game last year and Olsen's bragging ever since, the Brazilians wanted revenge.
The Brazilians could have fielded their "B" team, tested their second-stringers and not risked an injury to Ronaldo or its other stars. Instead, they tested a new, attack-heavy formation with quicksilver midfielder Denilson in place of Cesar Sampaio, suspended for one game after drawing his second yellow card against Morocco.
They might have sensed it wasn't their night when the band got their national anthem wrong.
"We lost a game that was won," Zagallo said. "This will serve as a great lesson to us not to lose our concentration. It was a defeat on the road to the 'penta,' " as Brazilians call the hoped-for fifth Cup title.
The Brazilians blamed themselves for the loss.
"We didn't let Norway do anything," said Rivaldo. "But unfortunately after the goal, we lost our cool and went on the attack like runaway horses, which made things easier for the Norwegians."
Zagallo thought the Norwegians didn't deserve the tying goal for their stodgy play to that point.
"They played anti-soccer. They had two defensive lines and only one striker, as if they didn't need to win," said the frustrated coach. "We should have just traded passes in the midfield and let the Norwegian fans boo. But one goal wasn't enough for us and we went looking for the second."
After Baharmast whistled the foul, Rekdal fired it into the left side for the clincher.
"I got the ball. I was lucky I guess," Flo said. "I took a shot and it went into the corner. It was a good goal, but we knew we needed one more. Then we got the penalty and it was a very cool finish by Rekdal."
In the final minute, Grodas smothered a booming shot from Roberto Carlos to seal the victory.
Brazilian captain Dunga was one of the harshest critics of his team's play.
"The Norwegian victory is the least of it," he said. "What I regret is the wrong-headed way we played in the final minutes. We forgot everything we know how to do well, which is move the ball."
Still, the rivalry was strictly on the field. Norwegians and Brazilians were united in the pre- and postgame partying -- and two vowed to stay together forever.
Olvind Ekeland, a 28-year-old Norwegian, married 29-year-old Brazilian Rosangela de Souza on the pitch before the game. After his "da" and her "sim," fans of both teams joined in a chorus of "Stand By Me," in English.
