The world’s best World Cup nation tests its form against Norway
All signals indicate that next summer’s World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada will be an exciting and unpredictable tournament – and right now Norway has qualified for the first time in a generation. In this context, Brazil, which is the most successful football nation of all time with five World Cup trophies, has begun negotiations on a final dress rehearsal against Norway. At the same time, there is speculation that the United States under Donald Trump will shut out travelers from even more countries, including Brazil
National team manager Rodrigo Caetano of the Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) has revealed that Brazil is working to secure a friendly match against Norway as the last test before the championship.
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In an interview with ESPN Brasil, the sports director confirms that work is underway to put in place a pre-match against Norway before the tournament starts next summer.
“We are still negotiating our last pre-season game. Of course, we have a preference. It requires further dialogue, but our first choice is the Norwegian national team, which is a strong team at the moment,” says Caetano.
The sports director also gives a clear recognition to the Norwegian team:
“I also think they will have a very good World Cup, so this last friendly match would be a good and challenging test for us.”
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Historically invincible
Norway has a unique historical status vis-à-vis Brazil: it is the only nation that Brazil has never defeated in official matches.
In total, the two countries have met four times. The first match was a friendly match in 1988 that ended 1–1. In 1997, Norway won 4–2 at Ullevaal Stadion. The following year, the teams met in the 1998 World Cup – a match that ended in a Norwegian 2–1 victory, which sent Norway through to the knockout stages. There, Norway lost 0–1 to Italy in the round of eight, which is still the country’s last World Cup match.
In 2006, the countries played another friendly match, which ended 1-1 – just like in the very first meeting.
A meeting between two coaching profiles
If the match goes ahead, there will also be a meeting between two very experienced and profiled coaches:
On the one hand, Brazil has their Italian boss Carlo Ancelotti. With a career that includes Champions League titles with AC Milan and Real Madrid, and league championships in England, Germany, Italy and Spain, he is considered one of the most successful and respected club managers of all time. Since 2023, he has taken on the challenge of leading the Brazilian national team and bringing back the “jogo bonito” spirit after a difficult period.
On the other side is Norway’s Ståle Solbakken. He established himself as a skilled and tactically sharp coach through successful years with FC Copenhagen, where he won several Danish championships. He also has experience from the Bundesliga with 1st FC Köln. After taking over the Norwegian national team in 2020, he has gradually built up a solid and well-functioning collective that has now qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1998.
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