World Cup 2026: Haaland's Late Strike Sinks Ivory Coast in Norway's 2-1 Win

Haaland's 86th-minute punch lands in Arlington

In a World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Norway came out on top 2-1 against Ivory Coast on a hot, clear afternoon. Antonio Nusa opened the scoring before the break, Amad Diallo hauled Ivory Coast level midway through the second half, and Erling Haaland settled it late.

The numbers back up the result. Norway finished with 2.02 expected goals (xG, a measure of chance quality) to Ivory Coast's 1.11, and created four big chances to Ivory Coast's two. Possession was close — 53% for Norway, 47% for Ivory Coast — but Norway was the more efficient side, putting four of its six shots on target while Ivory Coast managed five on target from 13 attempts. Ivory Coast leaned heavily on width, swinging in 27 crosses to Norway's 10, but couldn't turn that volume into a second goal. Norway also did a mountain of defensive work, racking up 35 clearances to Ivory Coast's 11.

How both sides lined up in Dallas

From Nusa's opener to Haaland's winner

Norway struck first in the 39th minute, when Antonio Nusa finished off a Martin Odegaard assist to put his side ahead. Nusa then picked up a yellow card right at the end of the first half, in first-half stoppage time.

Ivory Coast went looking for an answer after the break and reshaped its attack just after the hour, bringing on Amad Diallo and Elye Wahi around the 60th minute. The change paid off in the 74th minute: Diallo turned in a Nicolas Pepe assist to make it 1-1 and reopen the tie. Norway had already freshened things up just before that, sending on Oscar Bobb and Andreas Schjelderup around the 71st minute, with Nusa among those replaced.

The decisive moment came in the 86th minute. Erling Haaland, set up by Patrick Berg, restored Norway's lead and put the result beyond reach. Ivory Coast emptied the bench in the closing stages, withdrawing Pepe and rotating several players deep into stoppage time, but couldn't find a second equaliser.

Colombia's fans nailed the 2-1 scoreline

The futbol.so community leaned toward Norway overall, so the winner came as no great shock. The interesting twist is in the exact scoreline. The most-picked result across the community was actually Ivory Coast 1 - Norway 0 — a Norway win, but a tighter, lower-scoring one than what played out.

Drilling into the country splits, fans in Colombia called this one almost perfectly: they backed Norway and their most-chosen score was Ivory Coast 1 - Norway 2, exactly how it finished. England's fans also leaned Norway, while supporters in Argentina and Austria tilted toward Ivory Coast. Mixed signals around the futbol.so community, then, but the people who trusted Norway — and especially those in Colombia — ended the night feeling pretty good.

Video highlights

HIGHLIGHTS - Côte d'Ivoire v Norway | Haaland Looking To Progress! | FIFA World Cup

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Haaland's CLUTCH winner ELIMINATES Ivory Coast from World Cup + Norway vs. Brazil Preview

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LIVE | Norway vs Ivory Coast | Live The Game | Round of 32 | FIFA World Cup 2026 | T Sports

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Norway vs. Ivory Coast FULL REACTION: Norway is ‘NOT BURDENED’ | ESPN FC

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World Cup: Ivory Coast vs Norway

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World Cup: Ivory Coast vs Norway

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World Cup: Ivory Coast vs Norway

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World Cup: Ivory Coast vs Norway

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World Cup: Ivory Coast vs Norway

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World Cup: Ivory Coast vs Norway

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Norway advances on the back of an efficient, chance-quality performance and a familiar late finish from Haaland, while Ivory Coast will rue not converting its territorial and crossing dominance into more than one goal. With the World Cup 2026 knockout rounds rolling on, attention now turns to who Norway meets next.