Olaleye IDOWU

Former England legends Gary Neville, Roy Keane, and Ian Wright have criticised Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes for his questionable defending following Erling Haaland’s remarkable double that led Norway to a historic 2-1 victory over Brazil.

Haaland showcased an outstanding individual performance as Stale Solbakken’s team triumphed over the five-time World Cup champions, securing their place in the quarter-finals for the first time in the nation’s history.

The Round of 16 match appeared to be heading towards extra time after a scoreless first half, during which Bruno Guimaraes had a penalty easily saved by Norwegian goalkeeper Orjan Nyland.

However, Haaland had different plans, skillfully outmanoeuvring his long-time rival Gabriel to head in Andreas Schjelderup’s enticing cross in the 79th minute in New Jersey.

The iconic Manchester City striker then extended Norway’s lead with a powerful long-range shot before Neymar netted a consolation goal in the final moments, bringing his tally for this summer’s tournament to seven goals in five matches.

He will undoubtedly aim to increase that number when Norway faces England this weekend.

Reacting to Haaland’s opening goal on ITV, ex-England international Neville said, “But look, I’m fuming with Gabriel from a point of view; he knows that centre-forward better than anybody.

“For him to stay five yards off him and go for a straight race on a header with Haaland… absolutely crazy from Gabriel and I can’t believe it.”

Ex-Manchester United captain Keane added, “Poor defending [from Gabriel].”

Former Arsenal and England striker Wright said, “Listen, I can’t disagree with you with Gabriel…The thing is, what I’m surprised about with Gabriel is that he didn’t actually look for him once.

“That’s what I’m surprised with more than anything else because as a forward, you’ve got to get on his shoulder so that when he looks, you go. He didn’t do it once.”