Arlington, Texas – AT&T Stadium hosted a tightly contested 2026 World Cup knockout-round clash between Norway and Ivory Coast. The final score read 2-1 to Norway — the Scandinavians winning a World Cup knockout fixture for the very first time. Next up: Brazil.
Nusa strikes against the run of play
Ivory Coast largely controlled the first half and kept Norway under sustained pressing. Against that backdrop, the opener arrived in the 39th minute and it went to the Norwegians: Antonio Eromonsele Nordby Nusa, the 20-year-old RB Leipzig winger, cut in from the left and curled a long-range effort into the top corner. Martin Ødegaard provided the assist. It was a goal that defied the run of play — and it would shape the entire match. Shortly after the restart, Nusa picked up a yellow card (46') before being substituted in the 71st minute.
Diallo levels, Haaland decides
Ivory Coast pushed hard for an equaliser in the second half and found it through a substitute: Amad Diallo, who had come on for Inao Oulai in the 60th minute, received a pass from Nicolas Pépé in the 74th minute, weaved his way through the area and slotted home low to make it 1-1. The Abidjan-born Manchester United winger had earlier cleared a Torbjørn Heggem effort off the line — now he was on the other side of the ledger.
Norway responded four minutes from time. Patrick Berg — credited as the provider by multiple sources — laid the ball off, and Erling Braut Haaland steered it into an almost empty net with his left foot in the 86th minute to make it 2-1. It was his fifth goal of the tournament and simultaneously his 60th international goal in just his 53rd appearance for Norway — a figure that cements his status as his country's all-time leading scorer. Haaland had already broken Jørgen Juve's national record, which had stood since 1937, back in October 2024.
Historical context and what comes next
The 2026 World Cup marks a structural watershed in world football, with 48 nations divided into 12 groups of four. Thirty-two sides advance from the World Cup group stage to the knockout rounds — twelve group winners, twelve runners-up and the eight best third-placed finishers. The opening knockout round is therefore now what was previously called the round of 32, not the round of 16 as it stood through the 2022 World Cup. Head coach Ståle Solbakken guided Norway into the round of 16 as the first European side to reach that stage of this expanded edition of the tournament. Brazil await.
For Ivory Coast, the tournament ends after a performance that impressed for long stretches but ultimately yielded too little. Norway, meanwhile, are writing World Cup history for the first time since 1998.
