Gary Neville blasts Gabriel after Haaland scores to break Brazil’s hearts

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·6 Juli 2026

Gary Neville blasts Gabriel after Haaland scores to break Brazil’s hearts

Gary Neville criticised Gabriel Magalhaes after Erling Haaland scored in Norway’s 2-1 victory over Brazil, a result that eliminated the South Americans from the World Cup. The contest between Haaland and Gabriel had been one of the major talking points before the match because of their regular battles at club level.

Norway entered the game with a strong historical record against Brazil, although many still expected the Brazilians to progress because of the quality within their squad and their status as one of the favourites to win the tournament. Norway, however, produced an impressive performance and showed they were capable of matching one of international football’s strongest teams.

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Haaland shines against Brazil

Norway are appearing at the World Cup for the first time since 1998, and Haaland played a decisive role in the victory with two important goals. His first came after he got the better of Gabriel inside the penalty area before adding another impressive finish later in the match to secure the win for the Norwegians.

The physical contest between both players was closely watched throughout the game, especially because they are already familiar with each other from domestic competition. Haaland’s movement and strength caused problems for the Brazilian defence, with Norway taking advantage of key moments during the match.

Neville criticises Gabriel defending

Neville was highly critical of Gabriel’s positioning for the opening goal and believed the defender should have handled the situation differently against a striker of Haaland’s quality.

Neville said, as quoted by the Metro, “I’m absolutely delighted for him, he’s a big personality.

“But look, I’m fuming with Gabriel from a point of view, he knows that centre forward better than anybody.

“For him to stay five yards off him and go for a straight race on a header with Haaland, absolutely crazy from Gabriel and I can’t believe it.

“There’s one man in the box. The advantage the defender has there is just to go and absolutely block his run, get tight to him, but he’s the best at that, Haaland. Once he gets a run on you and he jumps, you’ve got no chance, your dead.”

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