Haaland Strikes Late as Norway Edges Côte d’Ivoire in World Cup Thriller round 32
Côte d’Ivoire’s run at the 2026 FIFA World Cup came to a heartbreaking end on Tuesday evening following a narrow 2-1 defeat to Norway in the Round of 32. An 86th-minute winner from Manchester City talisman Erling Haaland shattered the Elephants’ hopes of reaching the last 16, punishing an Ivorian side that dominated large stretches of the encounter at Dallas Stadium.
Emerse Faé’s men stepped into their first-ever World Cup knockout fixture with immense intent, immediately destabilizing Norway’s defensive lines. Utilizing the flanks efficiently, left-back Ghislain Konan came close in the opening 20 minutes, driving a powerful shot into the side-netting.
The best opening of the half-hour arrived via Villarreal’s Nicolas Pépé. Yan Diomandé floated an inch-perfect cross to the back post, but Pépé opted to cushion a volley across the six-yard box rather than testing Ørjan Nyland directly, allowing the Norwegian backline to scramble the ball clear.
Despite Côte d’Ivoire dictating the pace and controlling a massive 74% of the ball over ninety minutes, they lacked the clinical final touch when camping around the opposition box.
Against the run of play, it was European side Norway that opened the scoring in the 39th minute. Arsenal maestro Martin Ødegaard orchestrating from midfield, sliced a pass out to the left flank to find Antonio Nusa. The 21-year-old RB Leipzig winger cut inside onto his stronger right foot, carving open half a yard of space before bending an exquisite, un-saveable effort into Yahia Fofana’s top-right corner.
The game turned on its head in the second half with the introduction of Manchester United winger Amad Diallo. Faé turned to his bench on the hour-mark, a move that quickly injected directness and urgency into the Ivorian attack.
Diallo proved to be an absolute dynamo. In the 74th minute, he first denied Norway a second goal by pulling off a desperate, spectacular clearance off the line from Torbjørn Heggem’s goal-bound effort. Seconds later, Diallo single-handedly equalized at the other end. Combining in a slick one-two with Nicolas Pépé, Diallo dynamically sliced past two Norwegian shirts inside the box before drilling a composed, clinical finish past Nyland to make it 1-1, sending the Ivorian supporters into absolute raptures.
With momentum firmly on Côte d’Ivoire’s side and the game seemingly destined for extra time, Norway’s lethal transition attack proved decisive.
In the 86th minute, substitute Oscar Bobb slid a neat pass into the box for Patrick Berg, who quickly squared it across the face of goal. Erling Haaland, peripheral for most of the match under intense marking by Odilon Kossounou and Emmanuel Agbadou, escaped his markers to stab the ball home into an empty net. It was Haaland’s fifth goal of the tournament and his 60th international strike overall.
Côte d’Ivoire threw everything forward in a frantic stoppage-time period. Diallo nearly found a miraculous second equalizer with a blistering free-kick, but Nyland produced a magnificent fingertip save to preserve the lead for the Scandinavians.
While Côte d’Ivoire leaves the tournament with massive credit for their fighting spirit and tactical dominance, they will heavily regret failing to convert their superiority into more goals. With this result, Morocco remains the sole African representative heading into the Round of 16, while Norway advances to face five-time champions Brazil this Sunday in New York.
