Erling Haaland scored a dramatic late winner as Norway beat Ivory Coast 2-1 in a thrilling World Cup round of 32 tie on 30 June in Dallas, knocking out an Ivorian side that had fought back from a goal down with a stunning equaliser of their own.
The Manchester City striker had been largely anonymous for much of the contest but appeared when it mattered most, tucking home Patrick Berg’s cutback in the 86th minute for his fifth goal of the tournament. It marked the first time Norway had ever won a World Cup knockout match, and they became the first European nation to progress in their maiden knockout tie at the finals since Ukraine in 2006. They will face five-time champions Brazil in New Jersey on 6 July for a place in the quarter-finals.
The contest began tepidly between two physical sides at the air-conditioned home of the Dallas Cowboys. Haaland saw an early header blocked inside three minutes, while Ivory Coast had their first real sight of goal after twenty minutes, with defender Ghislain Konan bursting into the box from the left, though his effort found only the side netting.
Tempers flared just before the drinks break when winger Yan Diomande was brought down on the counter just inside his own half, with referee Jesus Valenzuela controversially opting not to book David Moller Wolfe. The 19-year-old Diomande, close to joining Paris Saint-Germain from RB Leipzig, had begun to trouble Norway’s right side as the young Ivorian side grew increasingly threatening down that flank.
Norway’s breakthrough arrived in the 37th minute, sparking a low-key half into life. Antonio Nusa cut in on his right foot, squared up his marker and curled a sumptuous finish in off the post, becoming Norway’s youngest ever major tournament goalscorer at 21 years and 74 days, taking the record from Steffen Iversen. Martin Odegaard provided the assist, becoming the first player to set up a goal in three successive World Cup appearances since Igor Belanov in 1986.
Norway nearly doubled their lead soon after, but Ibrahim Sangare lunged across to deny Haaland from close range, celebrating as though he had scored himself.
Ivory Coast, in the knockout rounds for the first time in their history, came out fighting after the interval. Nicolas Pepe was denied by the legs of goalkeeper Orjan Nyland as the pressure built, while Odegaard’s inswinging corner found Torbjorn Heggem, only for substitute Amad Diallo, just introduced, to clear off the line.
Diallo then provided the answer at the other end. Playing a lovely one-two with Pepe, the Manchester United winger danced through a crowd of defenders, jinking one way then the other, before lashing home a spectacular leveller in the 74th minute, becoming only the third player to score twice as a substitute at a single World Cup for an African nation, after Roger Milla in 1990 and Pape Gueye for Senegal this year.
Twelve minutes later, Oscar Bobb played a defence-splitting pass into Berg, who rolled the ball across for Haaland to apply a routine finish and restore Norway’s lead. It was his fifth goal of the tournament and the 60th of his international career in just 53 appearances, extending his scoring run to 13 consecutive games for his country, with 25 goals across his last 13 appearances.
Diallo almost forced an instant response, sending a stoppage-time free kick flying towards the top corner, but Nyland was equal to it. Norway held firm to seal victory and book their place in the last 16.
The match produced several notable milestones. Diomande became only the second African player to feature in four World Cup matches as a teenager, after Nigeria’s Sunday Oliseh in 1994. Ivory Coast became the fourth successive African nation to lose their first ever World Cup knockout game, following Ghana in 2006, Algeria in 2014 and South Africa earlier this year. Despite having 14 shots and winning 14 corners to Norway’s nine shots, Ivory Coast could not convert their set-piece dominance into a result, with their debut World Cup knockout run ending in a valiant defeat.
