On July 5, Brazil lost 1-2 to Norway in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup, while establishing more sad milestones in the history of the 5-time world champions.
This is the 7th consecutive defeat for “Selecao” against European teams in the World Cup knockout stages. The streak of defeats began with the 0-1 loss to France in the quarterfinals of the 2006 World Cup, followed by a 1-2 defeat to the Netherlands (2010), the 1-7 disaster against Germany in the semifinals of the 2014 World Cup, and then continuing to collapse 0-3 against the Netherlands in the third-place match of the same year.
At the 2018 World Cup, Brazil stopped their journey after a 1-2 defeat against Belgium. Four years later, the yellow and green team was eliminated by Croatia on penalties after drawing 1-1. And most recently, Norway became the next European team to cause Brazil bitterness with a 2-1 victory in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup.
Notably, this is also the first time since the 1990 World Cup that Brazil has been eliminated right in the round of 16. For a team rich in tradition and possessing 5 world championships, this achievement is considered a huge shock, reflecting the decline of “Selecao” on the most prestigious arena on the planet.
Not only that, Norway also maintains a rare statistic in the history of world football. The Nordic team remains the only national team that Brazil has never defeated. After 4 encounters, Norway won 2 victories and 2 draws against Brazil.
Brazil only held 34% possession, the lowest level for “Selecao” in a match at the World Cup since 1966. Previously, the lowest possession rate of the yellow and green team was 40% against the Netherlands in the semifinals of the 1998 World Cup.
The defeat against Norway clearly extends one of the most disappointing and unbelievable statistics in the history of the team considered a world football icon.
