"VAN" (Sports Desk - 01.07.2026) :: Erling Haaland was Norway's hero once more with the goal that put his country into the last 16 of the FIFA World Cup™ for the first time since 1998.
With his fifth goal of this FIFA World Cup 2026™ and 60th for Norway overall, Haaland ended the resistance of a Côte d’Ivoire side who had fought back into the game through Amad Diallo's splendid second-half equaliser, ensuring it is Stale Solbakken's side who advance to a meeting with Brazil in New York/New Jersey on 5 July.
It was Emerse Fae’s Côte d’Ivoire, playing their first World Cup knockout match, who carried the greater early threat in this tightly contested Round of 32 tie. Their menace from the flanks had been a feature of their group games and after left-back Ghislain Konan had shot into the sidenetting, their two wingers combined for the best opening of the first half-hour. Yan Diomande delivered a precise cross to the far post to Nicolas Pepe but from close range, he cushioned his volley back into the six-yard box – rather than goalwards – and Kristoffer Ajer cleared.
Instead, it was Norway left winger Antonio Nusa who provided the breakthrough. Collecting on the left side of the penalty area, he moved the ball onto his right foot, stealing a yard from Pepe, and then bending a brilliant shot into the far corner for his first goal at these finals.
A prominent question before the match was whether Côte d’Ivoire’s defence could contain Haaland. He had one touch in the opening quarter. Yet, with Norway’s tails up, he might have doubled the lead when connecting with Alexander Sorloth’s knockdown after 41 minutes but Ibrahim Sangare made the block.
As Côte d’Ivoire chased an equaliser, Orjan Nyland saved Pepe’s near-post effort yet it was the introduction of Diallo that put the wind in their sails. After clearing off the line from Torbjorn Heggem, Diallo scored a magnificent equaliser at the other end. Bursting into the box on a give-and-go with Pepe, his quick feet took him past two white shirts before an emphatic strike past Nyland. A goalscorer off the bench against Ecuador he had now repeated the trick. Yet Haaland would have the final word, stabbing the ball in from close range from Patrick Berg's low cross to maintain his fantastic scoring run at his first World Cup.
Even then, the drama was not done as Diallo embellished his impressive cameo with a terrific free-kick that drew an equally spectacular Nyland save to ensure Norway held onto their lead this time.
Cr-FIFA2026
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