Haaland and more: discover Norway's strengths and weaknesses

Brazil and Norway face each other this Sunday (5), at 5pm (Brasília time), in a match valid for the round of 16 phase of the World Cup. This will be the second game for Carlo Ancelotti's team in the knockout stages of the tournament, which already eliminated Japan in the round of 16.

The European country reached the round of 16 of the World Cup after beating Ivory Coast 2-1. Center forward Erling Haaland scored the winning goal and is the team's highlight in the competition.

Partnership between Haaland and Odegaard and powerful attack
At the moment, Haaland has five goals in three matches played in the World Cup. In total, wearing the Norwegian National Team shirt, the Manchester City striker has an incredible 60 balls in the net in 53 games.

In many of these goals, he was assisted by Martin Odegaard, another important name in the Norwegian squad. The Arsenal attacking midfielder has had injury problems during the season, but has been a starter in the tournament and has already accumulated three assists.

In the European Qualifiers, Norway's offensive power drew attention. The team led by Stale Solbakken had the best attack of the competition, with 37 goals scored. In addition to the 11-1 thrashing of Moldova, the Nordics beat Italy twice in the campaign, in games that ended 3-0 and 4-1.

Slow and vulnerable defense
On the opposite side of the field, the Norwegians have found it difficult to go through a World Cup game without conceding goals. So far, the team has been leaked in the four matches it has played, even conceding four goals in the defeat to France.

The main flaw in the defense is the slowness of its defenders, especially the defense duo of Kristoffer Ajer and Tobjorn Heggem. In the duel against Ivory Coast, they saw wingers Amad Diallo and Yan Diomande shine and threaten the country's classification in the round of 16.

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Source: CNN