FIFA 2026: Norway Claim First Knockout Victory, Defeat Ivory Coast In Round of 32

 

Norway have eliminated Ivory Coast from the 2026 FIFA World Cup after winning 2-1 in a comeback finished by Erling Haaland in the Round of 32 in Arlington, Texas. 

Ivory Coast was participating in their fourth FIFA World Cup. In their previous appearance at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Sao Paulo, Brazil, they were eliminated in the group stage. Meanwhile, Norway's victory was their first in the knockout stages of the competition. 

Antonio Nusa set the tone of the game with an opening goal in the 39th minute. The forward seized an individual effort to dazzle the Ivorian defense when Martin Odegaard slipped a pass to him in front of the box and curled the ball into the top left corner of the post. 

Ivory Coast reestablished their stance in the second half as Amad Diallo did a one-two with Nicolas Pepe, dribbled past a defender, and volleyed the ball into the net. Eventually, the Ivorians lost out when Patrick Berg darted down the right, across the edge of the penalty area, and slipped a cut back to Haaland, who tapped in the ball into an unguarded net. 

Norway have set up a Round of 16 clash with Brazil. The South American country defeated Japan 2-1 in a comeback with a stoppage time goal from Gabriel Martinelli. 

Overview 

Despite Norway's earlier dominance, the Ivorians played impressively. Amad was a standout for the Ivorans,, giving assists that were not converted. Norway relied solely on Haaland in the attack, and he was closely marked. Though he had an opportunity to put his mark on his game in the first half. 

Changing the pace of the game paid off for Norway. They caught the left back off guard. The moment of defensive flop between Ghislain Konan and Emmanuel Agbadou allowed the space for the buildup to Norway's winner.

Chances and Defense 

Norway's closest chance to scoring was wasted by Erling Haaland. The striker missed a glaring chance in front of the empty net, tapping the ball out of touch. After Nusa's opening goal, Konan missed the chance to equalise for the Ivorians, hitting a rebound toward the left corner of the goal, but Nyland stopped the ball from going in.