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Erling Haaland struck four minutes from time to fire Norway into the Round of 16 with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast in their 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 32 clash at Dallas Stadium on Tuesday.
The Manchester City striker ended Ivory Coast’s resistance with an 86th-minute winner after the West Africans had battled back from a goal down through Amad Diallo. The victory sends Norway into the knockout stage for the first time in their World Cup history, where they will face five-time champions Brazil on Sunday.
Norway broke the deadlock in the 39th minute when Antonio Nusa curled a superb effort beyond the goalkeeper after being picked out by captain Martin Ødegaard. The Scandinavians carried the lead into half-time but were forced onto the back foot after the restart.
Ivory Coast found a deserved equaliser in the 74th minute through Amad Diallo, who produced a brilliant individual effort before finishing confidently after being released by Nicolas Pépé. The goal breathed life into the African side and set up a tense closing period.
Just as extra time appeared inevitable, Patrick Berg delivered a perfectly weighted pass into Haaland’s path, and the prolific striker made no mistake, finishing clinically to restore Norway’s advantage and silence the Ivory Coast supporters.
Ivory Coast pushed desperately for another equaliser during seven minutes of added time and almost forced extra time when Diallo unleashed a powerful long-range strike, but goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland produced a magnificent save to preserve Norway’s lead.
The final whistle confirmed Norway’s historic achievement, with Haaland’s late strike proving decisive after an entertaining contest watched by 69,665 spectators at Dallas Stadium.
The result means Norway advance to the last 16 for the first time at a FIFA World Cup, while Ivory Coast bow out despite an impressive second-half display that briefly looked capable of taking the match beyond 90 minutes.
