A goal by Erling Haaland in the 86th minute—in what was practically his only dangerous play—broke the tie against Ivory Coast, secured the victory for Norway, and sends them to MetLife Stadium, where the Brazilian national team awaits in the Round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup.
He had barely made an appearance, but he has a gift. As his coach, Stale Solbakken, said the day before, he has an intuition for where the goal might be. After a very lackluster game, he found the decisive ball when there was no time left for the Ivory Coast to react. A pass from Patrick Berg left the City forward with nothing more to do than tap it into the net. The Ivorians and Norwegians put on a lackluster performance—disorganized and with more mistakes than good plays—which was ultimately decided by Haaland’s efficiency.
Nusa broke the deadlock
In the pre-match press conference, Stale Solbakken insisted that his team doesn’t play long balls in an attempt to find Erling Haaland, but rather wants to keep possession.
And they had that chance in the first half, but couldn’t find a way to get the ball to the striker.
Caught in the spiderweb that Emerse Faé’s people had spun around him.
Haaland, with Sorloth as his assistant, didn’t appear until the final stretch of the first half.
The Ivorian team lost its composure after conceding the goal, but its attacks were always forced.
And Ivory Coast, which had a clearer idea of how to reach the opponent’s goal—relying on Franck Kessié’s physical presence and Yan Diomandé’s dynamism down the left flank—lacked a finishing touch.
He made numerous forays into the Norwegian penalty area and took more than half a dozen corner kicks.
But they failed to capitalize, and their only real threat came in the 21st minute when Ghislain Konan sent the ball into the side netting.
With Haaland neutralized, Norway found the answer before halftime in the form of the skillful Antonio Nusa.
He scored a spectacular goal after dribbling to the edge of the box and curling the ball out of Yahia Fofana’s reach (39′).
It couldn’t have been more effective (Filed under: Norway eliminates Ivory Coast).
Haaland showed up at the end
Faé’s team nearly tied the game early in the second half, when a pass found Nicolas Pépé on the edge of the box.
But the Villarreal player came up against Orland Nyland, who blocked the shot with his legs.
Torbjørn Heggem also had a chance, unmarked after a corner flicked on by Sorloth, but the Ivorian defense cleared the ball off the line (66′).
And, in a game dominated by individual plays, Amad Diallo’s entry onto the field proved decisive.
Because the Manchester United player, just like Nusa in the first half, created a goal for himself with a run down the right wing, a dribble, and a shot across the goal (75th minute).
Another great goal to tie up a game that was heading into overtime.
But in that realm—the realm of uncertainty—Haaland reigns supreme.
And the Norwegian giant didn’t miss his chance, scoring his fifth goal of the tournament and sending his team on to MetLife, where Brazil will have to take note (Filed under: Norway eliminates Ivory Coast).
Haaland has a knack for knowing where the goal might be
NuevaOnda.com
Technical Specifications
1 – Ivory Coast: Yahia Fofana, Guéla Doué, Odilon Kossounou, Emmanuel Agbadou, Ghislain Konan (Touré, 91′); Chirst Oulai (Amad Diallo, 60′), Ibrahim Sangaré, Franck Kessié; Ange-Yoan Bonny (Wahi, 60′), Nicolas Pépé (Diakité, 87′), Yan Diomandé (Guessan, 91′)
Curator: Emerse Faé.
2 – Norway: Orland Nyland; Kristoffer Ajer, Torbjørn Heggem, David Moller Wolfe, Marcus Pedersen (Aursnes, 83′), Patrick Berg; Sander Berge, Martin Odegaard; Alexander Sorloth (Bobb, 72′), Erling Haaland, Antonio Nusa (Schjelderup, 72)..
Head Coach: Stale Solbakken
Goals: 0-1, 39′: Nusa. 1-1, 75′: Amad Diallo. 2-1, 86′: Haaland.
Referee: Jesús Valenzuela (Venezuela). He issued a yellow card to Nusa of Ivory Coast,
Match Details: Round of 32 match of the 2026 World Cup played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington in front of 69,665 spectators. (Filed as: Norway eliminates Ivory Coast).
With information from EFE
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