Erling Haaland scored a dramatic late winner as Norway edged Ivory Coast 2-1 on Tuesday to secure a place in the Round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The Manchester City forward struck in the 86th minute in Dallas to seal Norway’s passage into the knockout stage, where they will face five-time champions Brazil at MetLife Stadium on July 5.
Norway opened the scoring in the 39th minute through Antonio Nusa, who produced a moment of brilliance after cutting in from the left before curling a superb right-footed effort into the top corner.
Ivory Coast responded strongly after the break and dominated much of the second half. Their persistence paid off in the 74th minute when substitute Amad Diallo levelled the score after sustained pressure from the Elephants.
With the match seemingly headed for extra time, Haaland delivered once again. Patrick Berg slipped a pass into the striker inside the penalty area, and although his effort was not cleanly struck, it had enough power to beat the goalkeeper and creep over the line for the winner.
The goal continued Haaland’s impressive World Cup form, making him the first player to score in each of his first three FIFA World Cup appearances. The 25-year-old also reached 60 international goals in just 53 matches, the fastest player to achieve the milestone.
Despite being closely marked for most of the contest, Haaland needed only one clear opportunity to make the difference as Norway held on to book a mouth-watering last-16 showdown with Brazil.
Ivory Coast bowed out of the tournament after an impressive second-half display ultimately failed to produce the result they needed.
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