Norway Edges Côte d'Ivoire 2-1 with Haaland's Late Winner
Erling Haaland broke Ivorian hearts with a late winner as Norway survived a furious second-half fightback to edge a gripping contest 2-1.
For Côte d'Ivoire, it was a performance full of courage and attacking intent after the break. It was also a brutal reminder of what happens when you leave the game’s most ruthless finisher a single opening.
Cagey start, ruthless punishment
The Elephants began cautiously, wary of the twin threat of Martin Ødegaard drifting between the lines and Haaland prowling on the last shoulder. They still carved out the first flickers of danger. Yan Diomandé tested the Norwegian back line early, Emmanuel Agbadou followed with a half-chance, and there was a sense that Norway could be unsettled.
The moment to tilt the first half arrived on 28 minutes. Nicolas Pépé found space close in, the kind of chance that should flip a tight game. He couldn’t find the target. Norway survived. The miss lingered.
Minutes later, they punished it.
A brief lapse in concentration at the back was all Antonio Nusa needed. He pounced, cut loose, and whipped a superb strike beyond Yahia Fofana six minutes before the interval. One chance with real quality, one clinical finish. Norway 1-0 up, and Côte d'Ivoire left to stew on what might have been.
Amad Diallo changes the temperature
The match changed after the hour. So did the noise, the tempo, the belief.
Elye Wahi and Amad Diallo stepped off the bench and immediately rewrote the rhythm of the game. Côte d'Ivoire pushed Norway back, wave after wave, pinning the Scandinavians deep and turning a controlled Norwegian display into a desperate rearguard.
Ørjan Nyland suddenly became busy. He denied Pépé. He denied Franck Kessié. Norway clung on as the Ivorian pressure mounted.
It couldn’t last.
On 74 minutes, Pépé finally found the pass he had been searching for, sliding Diallo through. The winger, ice-cool, opened his body and rolled a low left-foot finish past Nyland. Clean, composed, ruthless. The equaliser the performance deserved, and a jolt of electricity through the Ivorian ranks.
At that point, only one team looked like winning. The Elephants were quicker to every second ball, sharper in the duels, braver in possession. Norway, rattled, retreated.
Haaland’s quiet, then Haaland’s kill
And then came the twist that so often follows this script.
Haaland had been subdued for most of the second half, starved of service, reduced to half-glances and frustrated runs. But players at his level don’t need rhythm. They need a moment.
With four minutes of normal time left, Côte d'Ivoire switched off for just long enough. A brief gap, a misstep, and Haaland pounced. One chance, one finish, the kind of cold-blooded strike that separates hope from heartbreak. Norway 2-1 up in the 86th minute, the air sucked out of Ivorian lungs.
Agony at the death
Côte d'Ivoire refused to fold.
They threw everything forward, chasing a second equaliser with the clock against them. Diallo, again at the heart of it, unleashed a powerful drive that forced Nyland into an outstanding save, the goalkeeper stretching to keep Norway in front.
The final act was almost perfect. Deep into stoppage time, Evann Guessand rose and met a cross with a firm header. Time seemed to pause as the ball drifted towards the far post. It shaved past the upright, agonisingly wide, and with it went the last Ivorian hope.
The whistle followed. Norway through, Côte d'Ivoire out.
They leave the global showpiece beaten, but not diminished. This was a display that showed depth, resilience, and the emergence of Diallo as a genuine game-changer on this stage. The question now is simple: how far can this new Ivorian core go when the next opportunity comes?
