Norway took down Ivory Coast on Tuesday, using a late go-ahead goal from Norwegian star Erling Haaland to secure the nation’s first even knockout stage win.
Norway push through to the next round! ⏭️#FIFAWorldCup
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— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) June 30, 2026
The early minutes of the match saw both sides create opportunities on net.
Through the first 20 minutes, Norway would hold the majority of the possession, but only just, with 53%.
Ivory Coast, who some had deemed as a dark horse in this year’s tournament, continued to look sound as the first half ticked along.
And it seemed they’d go-ahead following a great cross from Yan Diomande to Nicolas Pépé on the back post.
But Pépé’s strike went just wide, crossing in front of the face of goal and cleared for an Ivorian corner.
As the half continued, Norway could not manage to string together anything offensively, taking 34 minutes to find their second shot of the match, coming courtesy of Haaland in the 37th minute.
But despite their offensive struggles, Norway’s Antonio Nusa would relieve the Norwegian frustrations with a sensational goal.
Nusa would deposit the right-footed strike beautify into the top right corner.
And Norway continued to press late, with Haaland coming inches away from doubling their advantage.
Forcing Ibrahim Sangaré to make an incredible block in front of goal.
Nusa’s goal would be the difference at the half as Norway would take their 1-0 advantage to the locker rooms.
Ivory Coast would come out of the half hunting for an equalizer with Sangaré taking the first shot of the second half.
A free kick in the 57th minute would see Martin Ødegaard whip in the set piece causing a bit of chaos in the box and forcing a stressful save from Ivorian goalkeeper Yahia Fofana.
In the 64th minute, a corner for Ivory Coast would fail to result in a goal, being cleared into the Ivorian half of the field.
Following the clearance, a brief scare for Ivory Coast saw Haaland chasing the loose ball that could have nearly put Norway up by two.
Just a few minutes later in the 67th, Norway had seemingly found their second of the match after Torbjørn Heggem would manage a strike onto net from close range.
But, somehow, the ball would be cleared off the line by Amad Diallo, keeping the deficit at just one.
And Diallo would deliver another moment of excellence just seven minutes later.
The Ivorian midfielder sliced his way through the Norwegian defense, cutting inside, putting the ball on his left foot and striking it home for the equalizer.
But late in the match, Haaland, who had been kept quiet for most of the afternoon, finally broke through.
Haaland would receive a pass from Patrick Berg and with an empty net right in front of him, tapped it home.
However, with seven minutes of stoppage time, Norway knew the match was far from over.
And it seemed that the 2026 World Cup would see yet another big goal in stoppage-time.
A cross into the box in the 90+2nd minute from Ghislain Konan would reacquire Norwegian goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland to knock it away.
But a weak clearance from Nyland would see the ball fall dangerously to the back post, but luckily for Norway, the player there was in white.
A dangerous free kick from outside the box would force Nyland to make yet another save, knocking away the attempt for a corner.
And Norway would manage to thwart a few more Ivoirian chances to take home the 2-1 victory.
This win marks the first time Norway have ever won a knockout stage match.
However, for the Norwegians, they will face their toughest challenge yet, as they are set to face off against Brazil at 4 p.m. on Sunday.
For Ivory Coast, the World Cup debutants shocked many with their level of play against some of the world’s best.
It’s fair to say that their future as a soccer nation looks to be very bright, following in similar footsteps as the 2002 Senegalese national team.
Follow Adrian Murillo Silva on Instagram @adrianms_official
