Côte d'Ivoire goals: Diallo (74) Norway goals: Nusa (39), Haaland (86)
Erling Haaland was Norway's hero once more with the goal that put his country into the last 16 of the FIFA World Cup™ for the first time since 1998.
With his fifth goal of this FIFA World Cup 2026™ and 60th for Norway overall, Haaland ended the resistance of a Côte d’Ivoire side who had fought back into the game through Amad Diallo's splendid second-half equaliser, ensuring it is Stale Solbakken's side who advance to a meeting with Brazil in New York/New Jersey on 5 July.
It was Emerse Fae’s Côte d’Ivoire, playing their first World Cup knockout match, who carried the greater early threat in this tightly contested Round of 32 tie. Their menace from the flanks had been a feature of their group games and after left-back Ghislain Konan had shot into the sidenetting, their two wingers combined for the best opening of the first half-hour. Yan Diomande delivered a precise cross to the far post to Nicolas Pepe but from close range, he cushioned his volley back into the six-yard box – rather than goalwards – and Kristoffer Ajer cleared.
Instead, it was Norway left winger Antonio Nusa who provided the breakthrough. Collecting on the left side of the penalty area, he moved the ball onto his right foot, stealing a yard from Pepe, and then bending a brilliant shot into the far corner for his first goal at these finals. A prominent question before the match was whether Côte d’Ivoire’s defence could contain Haaland. He had one touch in the opening quarter. Yet, with Norway’s tails up, he might have doubled the lead when connecting with Alexander Sorloth’s knockdown after 41 minutes but Ibrahim Sangare made the block.
As Côte d’Ivoire chased an equaliser, Orjan Nyland saved Pepe’s near-post effort yet it was the introduction of Diallo that put the wind in their sails. After clearing off the line from Torbjorn Heggem, Diallo scored a magnificent equaliser at the other end. Bursting into the box on a give-and-go with Pepe, his quick feet took him past two white shirts before an emphatic strike past Nyland. A goalscorer off the bench against Ecuador he had now repeated the trick. Yet Haaland would have the final word, stabbing the ball in from close range from Patrick Berg's low cross to maintain his fantastic scoring run at his first World Cup.
Even then, the drama was not done as Diallo embellished his impressive cameo with a terrific free-kick that drew an equally spectacular Nyland save to ensure Norway held onto their lead this time.
Erling Haaland has hit the target 60 times in 53 matches for his country overall, and has now scored in his first three appearances on the world stage.
"That's football. When you get chances, you have to score. We did the hard part by equalising. Unfortunately, we conceded that goal at the end. It's a shame. The players gave it their all and played until the very end. We were up against a spirited team that defended well and managed to secure qualification. At this level, it comes down to the little details. You have to stay focused from start to finish, no matter the opponent. It was everyone's first World Cup. I think the players have learned a lot. Now, we’ll work on coming back stronger for the next challenges." Emerse Fae, Côte d'Ivoire head coach
"This elimination leaves a very bitter taste. We had a real chance. Once again, some little details stop our momentum in the competition. It was a 50-50 game. They managed to capitalise on their chances. Unfortunately, there were moments we lacked composure. It was a game defined by transitions. You have to know when to slow the pace, like with Amad's goal, which was a well-constructed move [but] we shouldn't have only a vertical play." Franck Kessie, Côte d’Ivoire midfielder
"If I survive this, I will survive everything. The fact that we are able to come back is perhaps what I am most proud of. It has been 28 years since we last participated, we have taken on the USA and won three out of four games. Our supporters have taken the USA by storm. [On the emotions at the end] It’s a kind of suffering you probably can’t get anywhere else [and] a feeling that you simply can’t get from any other match. We played against a fantastic team who have some absolute monsters, physically, who got the better of us in the duels at times. The match swung back and forth, it looked like it could go either way. I think we had one or two more chances than they had so all in all, it was a deserved win. But I feel for their coach – the margins were slim." Stale Solbakken, Norway coach
"It's nice to see that it means so much to all of Norway. I think this will change Norway forever. I feel this is something that binds us a little extra together, it's simply touching to see." Erling Haaland, Norway centre-forward
Sources: FIFA Official
