Ivory Coast meet Haaland’s Norway with a place in the last 16 at stake

Ivory Coast have already gone further at a World Cup than they ever have before. On Tuesday they get the chance to go further still, when they meet Erling Haaland and Norway in the round of 32 in Dallas with a place in the last 16 on the line.

The match kicks off at 22:30 IST at AT&T Stadium, and it pairs two sides who arrived at this tournament as unknowns and have stayed long enough to start dreaming.

Ivory Coast in uncharted territory

Emerse Fae’s side reached this stage by beating Curacao 2-0 in their group decider, Nicolas Pepe scoring both goals to settle a nervy afternoon. For a team that had never previously survived a World Cup group, simply being here is new ground, and the mood in the camp suggests they intend to make the most of it.

Fae does have a defensive worry. Wilfried Singo missed the Curacao win with a hamstring problem and remains a doubt, which would leave Ousmane Diomande and Odilon Kossounou to anchor the back line, with Guela Doue and Ghislain Konan on the flanks. Ivory Coast will need them at their best, because they are about to face the most dangerous striker left in the tournament.

Haaland leads a Norway side back among the big nights

Norway are at a World Cup knockout stage for the first time since 1998, when they last reached the round of 16. That drought tells you how much this means in Oslo, and Haaland has been the reason they are still standing. The Manchester City forward has scored four times already in North America and looks every bit the player Norway waited a generation to bring to a tournament.

Stale Solbakken’s team did lose their final group match 4-1 to France, but that came with several changes after qualification was secured, and the wins over Senegal and Iraq are the truer measure of this side. Right-back Julian Ryerson is a doubt with a thigh issue, which could push Fredrik Aursnes wider and free up Patrick Berg to sit alongside Martin Odegaard and Sander Berge in midfield.

What to expect

This has the makings of a tight one. Ivory Coast carry a genuine goal threat in Pepe and the pace to hurt Norway on the break, while Norway will back Haaland to need only a half-chance. Whoever wins reaches the last 16 for a reward neither nation takes for granted, and on a neutral night in Texas there is little to separate them. For two teams used to watching the World Cup’s later rounds from home, that alone feels like progress.

Stay across every World Cup knockout tie