Norway hit by illness as Brazil's conquerors face England

Norway hit by illness before England quarterfinal

The team that knocked Brazil out is now fighting a cold. Norway manager Stale Solbakken confirmed a virus has spread through the squad ahead of Saturday's quarterfinal against England (3). Jorgen Strand Larsen had a fever. Others have been coughing and dealing with hoarseness, per Solbakken: "We only had Jorgen with a fever. But there was a bit of coughing and hoarseness spread through the group." Erling Haaland, who scored both goals in the 2–1 win over Brazil, is not among those named as affected. The quarterfinal is Saturday. No word yet on whether the illness will force changes to the starting XI.

Luiz Henrique vanished from Brazil's World Cup after one appearance

Luiz Henrique came into the tournament as a serious candidate to start. He left it with one appearance, the opener against Morocco, and then disappeared (1). Carlo Ancelotti never turned to him again, not against Haiti, not against Scotland, not in the Round of 16. No injury was reported. The coaching staff simply moved on. Ancelotti addressed the early exit broadly: "The elimination hurts. It's part of dreaming big. But it's also part of the sport to get up, learn, and move forward, always with honor" (1). That likely applies to several players. Luiz Henrique is one of them.

Andrey Santos gets a sideways mention in Man United chatter

A journalist at Football365 jokingly suggested Manchester United should contact a second Chelsea reserve midfielder after Andrey Santos (2). The piece was lighthearted, not a report of actual interest. Santos, 22, spent last season on loan at Strasbourg and has not yet locked down a place at Chelsea. For now, this is just a name-check in a transfer column, nothing more.

Fan-reaktioner

The pain is still raw. One fan posted a BBC reconstruction of Haaland's first goal against Brazil, shot from Gabriel Magalhães' point of view, and the thread has drawn plenty of grim appreciation for the Norwegian's movement (Reddit). Elsewhere, Oliver Kahn joked that if FIFA is rewriting history, maybe they should replay the 2002 final too (Reddit). The mood is half grief, half gallows humor, and it will stay that way while Norway are still in the tournament.