ERLING Haaland tapped home a dramatic late winner tonight in Dallas as Norway defeated Cote d’Ivoire 2-1 to set up a round of 16 showdown with Brazil at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The Manchester City striker had been quiet before the 86th minute, as Antonio Nusa and Amad Diallo traded brilliant strikes in a tense game.
But Haaland was in the right place to bobble home the decisive goal from six yards following Patrick Berg’s cutback.
It means Haaland has scored in 13 successive competitive internationals for Norway, his latest goal helping his country win a World Cup knockout match for the first time.
Cote d’Ivoire appeared to have forced extra-time thanks to a superb 74th-minute strike by second-half sub Amad – surprisingly left out as manager Emerse Fae lined up his side in a more defensive 4-1-4-1 formation.
It proved an error by Fae as the Ivorians struggled to create before going behind in the 39th minute.
Nusa is less heralded than strike partner Haaland, but the 21-year-old RB Leipzig winger produced a moment of sublime quality by cutting into the box from the left and curling a right-footed shot into the top corner.
After scoring the opener in their three group games, Cote d’Ivoire were forced to chase the game – so Fae sent on Amad in the second half, and the 23-year-old showed his country what they were missing as he cut in from the right, beat two men and slotted home his second goal of the tournament.
Just minutes earlier, the Manchester United man had made a key impact at the other end of the pitch – Norway centre-back Torbjorn Heggem somehow failed to score from four yards when his volley was cleared off the line by Amad.
But in a World Cup so far defined by star strikers, Haaland was never going to be denied.
Agency report
