👀 Take it easy, Haaland! CBF eye friendly with Norway before Copa do Brasil | OneFootball

To formalize a pre-World Cup friendly against the only team that has never been defeated by the Brazilian National Team.

This is, in fact, the desire of the CBF.

The director of national teams, Rodrigo Caetano, confirmed that Norway, with Haaland and Ødegaard, is considered the ideal test days before the start of the 2026 World Cup.

"We have a preference, which requires negotiation. Our desire is to face Norway. A friendly with good demands. But we are negotiating," highlighted the director in an interview with ESPN.

Haaland & Co. won all eight games played in the European Qualifiers, sending Italy to the playoffs.

📸 ALBERTO PIZZOLI - AFP or licensors

Brazil and Norway have faced each other four times. The Scandinavian team has two victories and there have been two draws.

The only match worth three points was played in the 1998 World Cup. Tore André Flo and Rekdal scored in the 2-1 comeback during the group stage of the World Cup in France.

📸 CHRISTOPHE SIMON

Besides Norway, the Brazilian National Team also has a negative record against two other teams: the Netherlands and Hungary.

There are two victories, one draw, and three defeats in six matches against the Hungarians.

And three wins, five draws, and four losses over 12 matches against the Dutch team.

France and Croatia are certainties

Right after the draw, the CBF confirmed matches against the teams of Mbappé and Modric in the only FIFA Date before the World Cup, in March.

These will be played in Boston and Orlando, respectively.

The entity's idea is also to have a friendly on Brazilian soil before the trip to the World Cup, most likely against a weaker rival.

Preference was for Boston...

The CBF was working with the idea of having the city of Boston, in Massachusetts, as the "base" during the group stage due to the large Brazilian community.

But the draw indicated matches in New York, Philadelphia, and Miami.

The focus then shifted.

"Starting tomorrow (Sunday), we will head to New York to visit possible training locations, hotel arrangements as well. Everything is going well, but we now depend on FIFA matters. We want to stay in New York, make our 'base camp' there," said Caetano.

🇧🇷 Group Stage Schedule

Debut on June 13 (Saturday) against Morocco at MetLife Stadium, in New York - 7 PM

The next match will be against Haiti on June 19 (Friday), at Lincoln Financial Field, in Philadelphia - 10 PM

And the group stage ends against Scotland on June 24 (Wednesday), at Hard Rock Stadium, in Miami - 7 PM

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

📸 MAURO PIMENTEL - AFP or licensors