Erling Haaland‘s 86th-minute goal was the difference as Norway knocked out Ivory Coast with a 2-1 win during Tuesday’s World Cup round of 32 action.
The goal was Haaland’s fifth of the World Cup, which puts him one behind Argentina’s Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race. He now has scored in each of his last 13 international matches for Norway.
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Norway looked to have had the game in control after Antonio Nusa opened the scoring in the 39th minute. Martin Ødegaard found Nusa with space on the side of the Ivory Coast penalty box seven minutes before halftime. Nusa then took on Nicolas Pépé and after a pair of feints quickly curled a shot around goalkeeper Yahia Fofana and into the back of the net for the lead.
According to Squawka, the setup makes Ødegaard the first player to record assists in three straight World Cup matches since Dirk Kuyt of the Netherlands in 2010.
Not satisfied with one, Norway had two more chances in the waning minutes of the opening half, but both Haaland and Alexander Sørloth could not capitalize on their respective opportunities.
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As Ivory Coast pushed for an equalizer, Norway had opportunities of their own to add an insurance goal. Torbjørn Heggem had a point-blank chance in the 67th minute off a corner kick that was cleared off the goal line by Ivory Coast’s Amad Diallo.
Diallo would make an impact at the other end of the field minutes later. The Ivory Coast winger played a give-and-go with Pépé as they approached the Norway penalty box and weaved his way through the backline before firing a left-footed shot past goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland.
The euphoria from the Ivory Coast side would last all of 10 minutes.
In the 86th minute, Oscar Bobb found Patrick Berg cutting through to the Ivory Coast penalty box. Berg’s touch took him to the outside, but he adjusted and sent a pass across to find an unmarked Haaland, who tapped the ball into the wide-open net.
The win was the first-ever for Norway in a World Cup knockout round. They advanced out of their group in their last appearance in the tournament in 1998, but were eliminated by Italy in the Round of 16 under the old format.
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Norway now moves on to face Brazil on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
