Norway winger Antonio Nusa lit up a cagey first half against the Ivory Coast with a stunning goal to hand Stale Solbakken’s men the half-time lead in Dallas.
The African side had the better of the half-chances in the opening half hour but Nusa then showed his class with a brilliant strike after 39 minutes, cutting in off the left flank and curling a shot past Yahia Fofana into the top right-hand corner.
It prompted a five-minute spell for Norway that could have resulted in two more goals.
First, Erling Haaland saw a close-range volley deflected wide by Ivory Coast midfielder Ibrahim Sangare after the Manchester City star latched on to Alexander Sorloth’s knockdown.
And from the resulting corner, Sorloth somehow headed wide with the goal gaping.
Norway had posed little attacking threat up to that point with Haaland restricted to two speculative headers that failed to seriously test Fofana.
At the other end, Ghislain Konan should have done better than fire a shot into the side-netting after 20 minutes and Nicolas Pepe was equally wasteful when latching on to a cross from Yan Diomande at the far post approaching the half-hour mark.
World Cup 2026: Ivory Coast confirmed team vs Norway
Ivory Coast make three changes from that win over Curacao, bringing in Konan, Emmanuel Agbadou and Christ Inao Oulai for Ousmane Diomande, Christopher Operi and Amad Diallo.
Defender Wilfried Singo is on the bench after missing matchday three with a hamstring issue.
Ivory Coast starting XI: Yahia Fofana, Ghislain Konan, Odilon Kossounou, Guela Doue, Emmanuel Agbadou, Franck Kessie, Ibrahim Sangare, Christ Inao Oulai, Ange-Yoan Bonny, Yan Diomande, Nicolas Pepe
Ivory Coast substitutes: Mohamed Kone, Alban Lafont, Ousmane Diomande, Wilfried Singo, Christopher Operi, Evan Ndicka, Jean Michael Seri, Seko Fofana, Parfait Guiagon, Simon Adingra, Elye Wahi, Oumar Diakite, Amad Diallo, Evann Guessand, Bazoumana Toure
World Cup 2026: Norway full line up vs Ivory Coast
Norway make 10 alterations from their defeat to France, with Patrick Berg the only player to retain his place.
Defender Julian Ryerson is on the bench after missing training with a thigh problem. Only six-goal tournament top scorer Lionel Messi has bettered Haaland’s total of four at the finals.
Norway starting XI: Orjan Nyland, Kristoffer Ajer, David Moller Wolfe, Marcus Holmgren Pedersen, Torbjorn Heggem, Patrick Berg, Sander Berge, Martin Odegaard, Alexander Sorloth, Erling Haaland, Antonio Nusa
Norway substitutes: Sander Tangvik, Egil Selvik, Leo Ostigard, Fredrik Andre Bjorkan, Sondre Langas, Henrik Falchener, Morten Thorsby, Fredrik Aursnes, Kristian Thorstvedt, Thelo Aasgaard, Andreas Schjelderup, Oscar Bobb, Jens Petter Hauge, Jorgen Strand Larsen, Julian Ryerson
Where to watch Ivory Coast vs Norway: TV channel, live online stream
Kick-off on Tuesday is at 18:00 BST (13:00 ET / 10:00 PT). In the UK, live TV coverage is on BBC One.
Streaming on a vast range of devices is available through the BBC iPlayer app and BBC Sport website.
World Cup 2026: Ivory Coast vs Norway stats
- Ivory Coast have won multiple games at a World Cup for the first time and scored the opening goal in all three group games
- They have won one of their five World Cup matches against European opposition (D1 L3), includng their last two such games
- Against Curacao, Nicolas Pepe became the second Ivorian to score twice in a match at the finals, 20 years after Aruna Dindane did so against Serbia
- At 31 years and 27 days of age, Pepe was the second-oldest African to score twice in a World Cup match, after Roger Milla for Cameroon against Colombia in 1990 (38 years, 34 days)
- Yan Diomande is the second African player to complete at least 10 dribbles (10) and create at least 10 chances (10) in a single World Cup group stage, after South Africa’s Quinton Fortune in 2002
- Norway have lost two of their 19 contests with African nations in all competitions (W9 D8), suffering defeats in friendlies against Senegal (in 2006) and South Africa (2009)
- Their two World Cup meetings with African opponents have produced that 3-2 victory over Senegal on Matchday 2 and a 2-2 draw with Morocco in 1998
- This is Norway’s third ever knockout match at the finals, previously losing against Italy in 1938 (2-1) and 1998 (1-0)
- Solbakken’s side have not lost successive matches since September 2022, against Slovenia and Serbia in the Nations League
- Erling Haaland could become the first player since Hungary’s Sandor Kocsis in 1954 to score in each of first his three World Cup appearances
