A place in the World Cup last 16 will be on the line when Ivory Coast and Norway meet at Dallas Stadium on Tuesday in the round of 32.
Ivory Coast are making history after reaching the knockout stages of a World Cup for the first time, while Norway are enjoying a memorable return to the tournament after ending a 28-year absence from football’s biggest stage.
Emerse Fae’s side arrived at the tournament in strong form and successfully navigated a difficult Group E campaign.
Les Elephants opened with a 1-0 win over Ecuador before suffering a narrow 2-1 defeat against Germany, a match in which they led through Franck Kessie before eventually being overturned by Julian Nagelsmann’s side.
Ivory Coast responded in their final group match, defeating Curacao 2-0 thanks to a Nicolas Pepe brace to secure second place and book their place in the knockout rounds.
Norway, meanwhile, have been one of the tournament’s most entertaining teams.
Stale Solbakken’s men stormed through Group I with victories over Iraq and Senegal before suffering a 4-1 defeat to France in their final match, finishing second behind Les Bleus.
The headline act has been Erling Haaland, who scored four goals across the group stage and once again demonstrated why he is regarded as one of the most dangerous forwards in world football.
Team news for Ivory Coast vs Norway
Ivory Coast remain hopeful that Wilfried Singo can recover from the hamstring issue that forced him to miss the win over Curacao, although the defender remains a doubt.
Ousmane Diomande and Odilon Kossounou are expected to continue at the heart of defence, while Nicolas Pepe should lead the attack after scoring both goals in the final group game.
Franck Kessie will once again be central to proceedings in midfield, providing leadership and experience for the African side.
Norway are monitoring the fitness of Julian Ryerson after the Borussia Dortmund defender missed training due to a thigh problem.
If Ryerson is unavailable, Fredrik Aursnes could drop into defence, allowing Patrick Berg to join Martin Odegaard and Sander Berge in midfield.
All eyes will again be on Haaland, whose four goals place him among the tournament’s leading scorers heading into the knockout rounds.
Expected line-ups for Ivory Coast vs Norway
Ivory Coast starting XI: Fofana; Doue, Kossounou, O Diomande, Konan; Sangare; Diallo, Kessie, Oulai, Y Diomande; Pepe
Norway starting XI: Nyland; Aursnes, Ajer, Heggem, Moller Wolfe; Odegaard, Berg, Berge; Sorloth, Haaland, Nusa
Where to watch Ivory Coast vs Norway: TV channel, online live stream
The match takes place on Tuesday, June 30 at Dallas Stadium.
In the UK, the match will be broadcast on BBC One and across their channels, including on BBC iPlayer.
Ivory Coast vs Norway stats
- Ivory Coast are appearing in the World Cup knockout stages for the first time in their history.
- Les Elephants conceded only two goals across their three group-stage matches.
- Ivory Coast kept clean sheets in two of their three games against Ecuador and Curacao.
- Nicolas Pepe scored both goals in the 2-0 victory over Curacao on matchday three.
- Franck Kessie has been directly involved in two of Ivory Coast’s three goals at the tournament.
- Ivory Coast have won five of their last six matches in all competitions.
- Norway scored eight goals in three group-stage matches, averaging 2.67 goals per game.
- Erling Haaland scored four goals in the group stage and has 59 goals in 52 international appearances.
- Norway have kept only one clean sheet in their last 10 matches across all competitions.
- Both teams scored in all three of Norway’s World Cup group matches.
- Martin Odegaard has contributed to goals in each of Norway’s victories at the tournament.
- Norway are playing in their first World Cup knockout match since the 1998 round of 16.
Prediction for Ivory Coast vs Norway
Ivory Coast have impressed throughout the tournament and look capable of causing problems for Norway’s vulnerable defence.
However, knockout football is often decided by moments of quality, and few players in the competition possess more of that than Haaland. Norway should squeeze through into the next round.
Prediction: Ivory Coast 1-2 Norway
