Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.
Carlo Ancelotti has not drawn up a specific plan to stop Erling Haaland ahead of Brazil’s World Cup round-of-16 clash with Norway on Sunday.
After 2-1 victories for both teams in the round of 32, with Brazil coming back to defeat Japan while Norway edged out Ivory Coast, they will do battle for a quarter-final spot.
It will be the fifth meeting between Brazil and Norway in all competitions, and the second at a World Cup following a 2-1 win for the Vikings in 1998.
In fact, Norway are unbeaten in all four previous games between the sides (W2 D2), while this will be their first meeting to feature Haaland.
The Manchester City striker has five goals in three outings at this World Cup, having been rested for Norway’s final group-stage game versus France. Overall, he has 25 goals in his last 13 competitive internationals, netting in every one of those matches.
Haaland could now become just the eighth European player to score in each of his first four World Cup appearances, and the first since Italy’s Christian Vieiri in 1998, but Ancelotti has warned against placing too much focus on Norway’s number nine.
“I don’t think there is such a thing as an ‘anti-Haaland’ plan,” Ancelotti said. “I don’t need to tell my players how to defend, they have faced each other a few times.
“Everyone knows how he works. I have nothing to explain to my defenders about how to play against him.
“They have obviously played against him several times, so we are only focused on being well-prepared for the match, understanding the basic characteristics of the opponent, and we know that they are very dangerous offensively.
“Norway is a challenging team, a team that has structure, has very good organisation, so we have to play at our best level, but I think we are at a time when we can play at our best level, because we are confident and have come out of a challenging match against Japan.”
Norway boss Stale Solbakken also preferred to focus on the teams’ overall matchup, rather than be drawn into commenting on Haaland’s previous duels with Premier League rival Gabriel Magalhaes, who will partner Marquinhos at the heart of Brazil’s backline.
“Brazil has one of the best pairs of defenders in this tournament, two players who are at a top-notch international level,” Solbakken said.
“There will be some tough duels between them and Erling, but it is more Brazil versus Norway for me.”
But Brazil midfielder Bruno Guimaraes – one of several players in the Selecao ranks that faces Haaland regularly at club level – knows the importance of keeping him uninvolved.
“I have played against him and for me, he’s one of the best strikers in the world, along with [Harry] Kane,” the Newcastle United man said. “We have to try to prevent the ball from reaching him.
“It’s marking while attacking, as we say. There should always be someone stuck to him so as not to give him space, because we know that with one ball he can decide it; we must not give him that ball.”
Brazil will welcome Raphinha back into their ranks after the Barcelona forward suffered an injury during the group stage, while it remains to be seen whether Ancelotti will make changes to his lineup after Gabriel Martinelli decided the Japan game off the bench.
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