Brazil meet Norway in the Round of 16 at MetLife Stadium on Sunday 5 July, kick-off 20:00 UTC. Below are our predicted starting XIs, built from confirmed squad lists, recent form, and the last known lineups for each side.
Brazil v Norway
The key selection question for Brazil is simple: who fills the creative void left by both Neymar and Raphinha? Neither is available, and Dorival Junior has leaned on a compact 4-3-3 throughout the tournament, so we expect the shape to hold with internal replacements doing the heavy lifting.
Brazil (4-3-3)
| Pos | Player |
|---|---|
| GK | Alisson Becker |
| RB | Danilo |
| CB | Marquinhos |
| CB | Gabriel Magalhães |
| LB | Douglas Santos |
| CM | Casemiro |
| CM | Bruno Guimarães |
| CM | Lucas Paquetá |
| RW | Rayan |
| ST | Matheus Cunha |
| LW | Vinícius Júnior |
Should Raphinha remain sidelined, Rayan keeps his place on the right wing after starting against Japan. Matheus Cunha continues through the middle, and we see no reason to disturb the rest of the XI that has won four of its last five. Gabriel Martinelli is the most credible bench option if Dorival wants more directness in the second half.
Norway (4-3-3)
| Pos | Player |
|---|---|
| GK | Ø. Nyland |
| RB | M. Pedersen |
| CB | K. Ajer |
| CB | T. Heggem |
| LB | D. Møller Wolfe |
| CM | M. Ødegaard |
| CM | S. Berge |
| CM | P. Berg |
| RW | A. Sørloth |
| ST | E. Haaland |
| LW | A. Nusa |
Norway carry no fresh injury concerns and we expect Ståle Solbakken to name an unchanged XI from the side that beat Ivory Coast. Ødegaard and Haaland are the axis around which everything runs: one creating, one finishing. The biggest selection doubt on the Norwegian side is whether Solbakken trusts Oscar Bobb or A. Schjelderup to push Sørloth for a wide starting berth, but the Ivory Coast line-up gives us no reason to change course.
The x-factor in this fixture is Vinícius Júnior. Norway will know that suffocating him is the most direct route to a result, and how Pedersen and the midfield screen cope with him at full speed could decide the tie before the hour mark.
This article was researched and drafted with AI assistance and reviewed by our editorial team.