Nyland's heroics against Brazil make Norway's goalkeeper England's biggest World Cup threat

Orjan Nyland, the 35-year-old Norway goalkeeper, stands between England and a place in the World Cup semi-finals when the two sides meet in Miami on Saturday, having produced one of the performances of the tournament to eliminate Brazil in the round of 16.

While Erling Haaland commands the attention of England’s defensive planners, it was Nyland who proved decisive against Brazil, saving Bruno Guimaraes’ penalty in the 14th minute and making four saves in total across the night — preventing 0.76 expected goals (xG). For supporters across the West Midlands, the display will have prompted a degree of disbelief.

Nyland is perhaps best remembered in England for his involvement in the Hawkeye controversy when the Premier League resumed after the Covid-19 break, and his time at Aston Villa between 2018 and 2020 was defined more by frustration than consistency. He arrived as the club’s third signing of the summer 2018 window, a day before John McGinn completed his move from Hibernian, and went on to make 36 appearances in all competitions — including the Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City at Wembley.

His finest hour in a Villa shirt came in the Carabao Cup semi-final against Leicester City, where a string of saves — including a stunning one-handed stop to tip Youri Tielemans’ effort onto the crossbar — kept Dean Smith’s side in the tie. Smith was effusive in his praise at the time: “We were indebted to Orjan Nyland, who made three wonderful saves — two down low and then one onto the crossbar, which was really top drawer. He has certainly given me a conundrum, but they’re the ones I want.”

A ruptured Achilles tendon cut his first season short, and after Jed Steer’s heroics during Villa’s promotion push and Tom Heaton’s subsequent arrival, Nyland never fully reclaimed his place. His contract was mutually terminated in October 2020, and few at Villa Park will have tracked his career closely since.

England’s Ollie Watkins and Ezri Konsa both shared a dressing room with Nyland at Villa, giving them a degree of familiarity with the goalkeeper — though Konsa’s overlap lasted just over a year and Watkins’ only a matter of weeks. That inside knowledge may prove useful, but Nyland’s display against Brazil suggests he is operating at a level well beyond anything he showed during his time in the Premier League.

For England, stopping Haaland’s supply remains the priority. But if Nyland reproduces his form from the Brazil game, progressing to the semi-finals may depend on breaking down a goalkeeper who, at 35, appears to be playing the football of his life.