There are very few football teams in football's history that have seen success like the Brazilian national team. The Selecao were once a formidable force in world football, having won the FIFA World Cup in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, and 2002 respectively. But in recent years, the side has not lived up to their ancestor's legacies, but have still done relatively well, winning the Copa America in 2019 and reaching the final of the 2021 edition of the same competition where they lost to Argentina in the final.
But there is one team that Brazil have been unable to beat in four meetings and that is Norway.
One of these meetings came in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, which was hosted (and won) by France, but prior to this, Norway had played Brazil in two international friendlies, drawing the first 1-1 in 1988, and losing the second 4-2 in 1997. In fact, the sides that met in the World Cup were almost the same but still triumphed over the defending champions 2-1.
In the older days, inter-continental friendlies were not a regular affair. But Brazil has an indomitable record against European teams so it is a surprising fact that among all the heavyweights, it is Norway.
The team is currently ranked 36th in the FIFA Men's World Rankings, with the likes of Kristoff Ajer, Martin Odegaard, and Erling Haaland in their squad. But back in those days, Norway were a force to reckon with. They had reached the World Cup finals in 1994 for the first time since 1938, and in 1993, Norway managed the amazing feat of being ranked the second-best team in the world (behind Brazil) on the FIFA World Rankings.
Their win in the World Cup was undoubted the best in their history in the tournament, and also their last since The Lions
have failed to reach the Finals of the tournament since 1998.
'23 June 1998' and Marseille, France will always remain as a date and venue close to the Norwegian football fanatics. Defending champions Brazil won Group A after only two matches with the side beating Scotland 2-1 and Morocco 3–0. Heading into the third game, the Selecao had nothing to play for but still started their regulars against Norway, who were looking to upset Brazil once again. Their last meeting had also ended in a 4-2 win for Norway
Needing a victory, Norway overturned a 1–0 deficit with 12 minutes remaining to defeat Brazil 2–1, with Kjetil Rekdal scoring the winning penalty to send Norway into the knockout stage for the first time. Brazil dominated the attacking play, with Bebeto putting Brazil ahead in the 78th minute.
But in a few minutes, Tore Andre Flo scored the equalizer, and when he was pulled down in the area two minutes before the final whistle, Norway got a penalty.
Kjetil Rekdal fired the penalty into the back of the net as the fans rejoiced and the world was stunned. Norway had come from behind to win against Brazil and advanced to the second round. The game was also notable for the Flo foul leading to the penalty not being shown on FIFA's official cameras. A few days later, footage captured by a camera operated by Swedish broadcaster SVT was released showing otherwise.
