Brazil had a golden chance to break through early in their Round of 16 match against Norway on Sunday. Instead, they walked away with another piece of unwanted history.
Matheus Cunha was dragged down in the box in the 14th minute. The referee initially let play continue, but VAR stepped in and pointed to the spot. It was the right call. Vinícius Júnior grabbed the ball, then handed it to Bruno Guimarães. That’s when things went sideways.
Guimarães hit a stutter-step penalty, the kind that looks good on training ground videos but often gets read by good goalkeepers. Sevilla’s Ørjan Nyland read it just fine. He dove to his left and saved it comfortably. No rebound, no drama. Just a letdown for Brazil fans holding their breath.
That miss was just the fifth penalty in World Cup history for Brazil, which is a surprisingly low number for a team that’s been to every tournament. But the company it keeps is bad. Really bad.
A bad omen that won’t go away
Brazil has been knocked out of the World Cup in knockout games two of the last three times they missed a penalty on the global stage. Those were 1934 and 1986. The third time? They got eliminated in a different round, but the point stands. When Brazil misses from the spot in a World Cup, something ugly usually follows.
It gets worse. Brazil has never beaten Norway. Not once. They’ve played four times, lost twice and drawn twice. So now you’ve got a team that missed a penalty, has a historically bad omen hanging over it, and still hasn’t figured out how to get past a European side they’ve never conquered.
This isn’t just a miss. It’s the kind of miss that follows a team around for years if the result doesn’t turn around. And at halftime, it wasn’t looking good.
What comes next for Brazil
The second half is still out there. Brazil has the talent to flip this game — Vinícius Júnior, Raphinha, and a midfield that can create chances when it clicks. But the psychological weight is real. Players know the history. They know what happened the last time Brazil missed a penalty in a knockout match. And they definitely know they’ve never beaten Norway.
Nyland is standing on his head in goal. Norway’s defense is organized. The clock is ticking.
Can Brazil shake off the bad omens and find a way? That’s the question the next 45 minutes will answer. If they don’t, this missed penalty will be the defining image of another early exit.
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