This is not the most promising start to a written story but the consensus at the MetLife Stadium on Sunday evening was that it was very hard to explain what more than 80,000 people had just witnessed.Some, including the main protagonist, described it as beyond their dreams, while others said they could not put it into words at all. Great.“I had dreamed of taking Norway to the World Cup but I couldn’t have dreamt of beating Brazil,” said Erling Haaland, having done just that. “I need to pinch myself sometimes.”Perhaps Andreas Schjelderup can help. After all, he provided the assists for Haaland’s sixth and seventh goals at this tournament (and his 61st and 62nd for Norway, in only 54 appearances).“I’m lost for words, we’re all lost for words,” the Benfica winger said. “I think we’re just happy he’s Norwegian and that he is playing for us.”As opposed to the land of his birth, Andreas?Perhaps the best way to do it is to think about the pictures.In the first, Haaland is intently watching the ball arrow into the bottom corner of Brazil’s net. He looks like his hips are six feet off the ground but he is perfectly balanced, knees high, torso twisted and left arm out for leverage. He is right, it is hard to think of a better way to explain pure athleticism.Just behind the Norwegian striker, a couple of feet lower, half a second slower and twisting, out of control, on his way to the ground, is Brazil defender Gabriel, a brilliant player and athlete in his own right, but emphatically second best at this moment of crisis.Erling Haaland heads in his first against Brazil (Al Bello/Getty Images)Their contest, as it so often has when they have met in the Premier League for their clubs, was meant to be the defining battle. Gabriel had probably got the better of it over the season, as Arsenal had beaten Manchester City to the league title.If we let this picture roll a few frames, we see Haaland wheeling away to take the acclaim of his teammates, Norway’s fans in the ground, those watching at home and sports fans around the world, who recognise greatness when they see it.But we also see Gabriel and Brazil goalkeeper Allison Becker on the ground, like skittles. For 79 minutes, they had stood up to the Viking marauder’s raids. Becker had made one straightforward stop from him and Gabriel had kept Haaland on the closest of leashes.There had been a couple bouts of judo between them but Norway’s talisman had touched the ball only 19 times in total. But that is the thing with Haaland: 20 was plenty.Over the full game, he had 30 touches — the same number as Alexander Sorloth, who was taken off at half-time because he was not making much impact. These things are very relative.