World Cup 2026 Quarter-Finals: England and Norway Advance as Brazil and Mexico Exit

The 2026 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals saw dramatic matches with Norway and England securing victories that eliminated record seven-time champions Brazil and co-host Mexico, respectively.

In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Norway stunned Brazil 2-1 with Erling Haaland scoring both goals in the 80th and 90th minutes. Brazil missed an early penalty through Bruno Guimaraes in the 14th minute. Despite Neymar scoring a late penalty in stoppage time, Brazil was knocked out, marking their worst World Cup finish since 1990 and extending their title drought to 24 years.

England defeated Mexico 3-2 in an intense match, despite playing with ten men for almost half the game after Jarell Quansah’s 54th-minute red card. Jude Bellingham scored twice early in the 36th and 38th minutes, and Harry Kane added a penalty in the 60th minute. Mexico's Julián Quiñones and Raúl Jiménez scored in the 42nd and 69th minutes, respectively. The match was delayed by an hour due to bad weather.

In a notable disciplinary development, US striker Folarin Balogun’s red card suspension, which would have ruled him out against Belgium, was lifted after a phone call between US President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino. Meanwhile, Neymar announced his retirement from international football following Brazil’s exit, having scored 80 goals in 130 appearances and surpassing Pelé's record.

With these results, Norway reached the quarter-finals for the first time, while Mexico joined fellow co-host Canada in exiting the tournament early.