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Norway defeated Ivory Coast 2-1 this Tuesday in the round of 32 of the , held at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, and advanced to the round of 16 of the tournament.
The reflect a back-and-forth battle that was decided in the final minutes. Antonio Nusa opened the scoring in the 39th minute with a shot that gave the Nordics the lead at halftime, although the RB Leipzig winger received a yellow card just before the whistle, which impacted his continuation on the field.
Ivory Coast reacted in the second half with a double substitution in the 60th minute. The newly introduced Amad Diallo capitalized on his entry to equalize the match in the 74th minute, in the most notable play for the African team. The Ivorians dominated in corners (12 compared to three) and generated more total shots (12 compared to nine), but they were unable to sustain the pressure.
Norway responded with their own changes: in the 71st minute, both Sørloth and Nusa were taken off, making way for Oscar Bobb and Andreas Schjelderup. It was then that Erling Haaland, who had remained on the field, appeared at the crucial moment: in the 86th minute, he scored the decisive goal, making it 2-1 and leaving the African team with no time to react.
The match statistics show a balanced game: 46% possession for Ivory Coast compared to 54% for Norway, four shots on goal for each team, and six fouls on both sides. The only yellow card of the match was given to Nusa.
With this result, Ivory Coast is eliminated from the tournament despite having achieved a historic milestone: it was the first time the African team advanced past the group stage in a World Cup, finishing second in Group E with six points.
Norway, for its part, returns to the knockout stage of a World Cup for the first time since France 1998, 28 years later. Haaland has already scored five goals in the tournament — four in the group stage and one in the round of 16 — establishing himself as one of the top scorers of this edition.
The Norwegians will face Brazil on July 5 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, in what will be their next test in this World Cup.
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