4 min readNew DelhiJul 1, 2026 01:11 AM IST
It had been 28 years since Norway last played a FIFA World Cup knockout game, but it was well worth the wait for the Nordic country when they beat a valiant Ivory Coast 2-1 with a late goal from, who else, Erling Haaland.
The match seemed to be progressing towards extra time when the Manchester City phenom found the net with a rather fortuitous finish past goalkeeper Yahia Fofana after a square pass from Patrick Berg.
The Scandinavians were set on their way by Antonio Nusa with a sumptuous curling strike in the first half, before Amad Diallo put the cat among the pigeons with an equally eye-catching equaliser with a little over a quarter of an hour of normal time left.
Tranquility reigned supreme in Dallas for 37 minutes. Perhaps unexpectedly so, given Norway’s reputation as one of the tournament’s most prolific attacking forces. Ståle Solbakken’s side had plundered 37 goals in eight qualifying matches before adding another eight in the group stage. Leading the line for the team was Haaland, who had scored 20 of those 45 goals, and required only 43 minutes to become his nation’s leading goal-scorer at the World Cup.
What was overlooked in the build-up to the Round of 32 game, however, was Ivory Coast’s defensive prowess. Emerse Faé’s side had not conceded a goal across 10 qualifying matches and showed little inclination to surrender that record here. The plan seemed to be working. Haaland had only one touch in the first 20 minutes, and Norway had only a tame half-attempt in the first 37.
Norway’s Erling Haaland (9) poses after the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Ivory Coast and Norway in Arlington, Texas, near Dallas, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Jessica Tobias)
That was until Nusa took matters into his own hands. Three orange shirts marked the winger when he received a pass from captain Martin Odegaard down the right flank. The goal arrived exactly three seconds later, following a sequence of events: sending Nicolas Pepe the wrong way with a magician’s deception, opening his body with a gymnast’s flexibility, and curling a shot between Franck Kessie and Fofana with an archer’s accuracy.
With their fort breached, Ivory Coast had only one option in the second half — to throw the kitchen sink. They did so, and then threw some more. Nine attempts in the second half, as opposed to five in the first. Eventually, in the 74th minute, their persistence was rewarded.
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Diallo glided beyond David Møller Wolfe and Sander Berge as though neither existed before steering an immaculate finish beyond Ørjan Nyland. At 1-1, momentum had swung decisively in favour of the African side.
The game seemed destined for extra time, when Ivory Coast learned why Haaland is inexorable. Oscar Bobb sliced through Faé’s prized defence with a perfectly weighted pass into Berg. The midfielder’s task was simple: return the ball into the danger area with complete faith that Haaland would occupy the space. He did, as he so often does.
The chaos engineered by Nusa and Haaland had broken through the proud defensive wall of the Ivorians, not once but twice.
When asked why he loves chaos, Nusa once replied: “Because my idol Neymar creates chaos on the pitch with his dribbling, just like me.” Haaland has offered his own variation on the theme: “I enjoy the chaos around me.”
Brazil awaits in the Round of 16.
