Haaland had the last laugh as Norway spoiled Amado Diallo’s dazzling display for Ivory Coast

There are nights when football feels incredibly unfair.

Ask Amado Diallo.

The Manchester United winger came off the bench to dive across the goal line to keep the Ivory Coast alive and then produced the kind of solo goal that deserves to live forever in the top wars of the World Cup. He lifted the Elephants from the brink for a few glorious minutes in Dallas and looked set to go down in his country’s footballing folklore.

Then came Erling Haaland.

Norway vs Ivory Coast, FIFA World Cup 2026: HIGHLIGHTS

He spent most of the evening lurking on the sidelines, watching Antonio Nusa steal the headlines in the first half and later watching Diallo bring the stadium to life. But when Norway needed a moment, there was always only one man they wanted the ball to fall to. Patrick Berg’s inch-perfect pass found Haaland with four minutes remaining, and while the finish wasn’t exactly vintage, it rolled over the line anyway. Sometimes that’s all great strikers need.

The score 2:1 means for Norway a thrilling round of 16 date with five-time champions Brazil. However, for Ivory Coast, it leaves that familiar feeling of the World Cup wondering what could have been.

The elephants were anything but passengers. In fact, they looked on the sharper side for most of the opening half hour. Nicolas Pepe gave David Moller Wolfe a torrid evening on the right, Yan Diomande repeatedly stretched the Norwegian backline and each attack had a little more purpose than the last. Norway had a lot of the ball but didn’t have much control of the game.

It made what happened next feel so brutally clinical.

Six minutes before the break, Antonio Nusa picked up the ball, slid into the box and, after Pepe hesitated for a split second, curled a beautiful strike into the top corner. One chance, one goal. Norway suddenly had something to protect and almost doubled their lead before half-time as both Alexander Sorloth and Haaland went close. Nusa scored a shout to put Norway ahead. (Photo: Reuters)

DALLO LIGHTS UP DALLAS

The game turned the moment Amad Diallo entered.

His first contribution was as important as any goal. Heggem looked to make it 2-0 after Sorloth’s knockdown, only for Diallo to appear out of nowhere and clear off the line.

Moments later, he gave everyone in the stadium something even better.

Fragile one-two with Pep. Slalom race between David Moller Wolf and Sander Berg. Great finish behind Nyland. It was one of those goals that had the crowd on their feet before the ball even hit the net. Cote d’Ivoire was balanced, Norway suddenly rocked and Dallas found its knockout classic. Diallo made an immediate impact after joining Ivory Coast. (Photo: Reuters)

HAALAND HAD OTHER PLANS

The problem with premature celebrations against Norway is that Erling Haaland rarely stays quiet for long.

With four minutes left, Oscar Bobb slotted Patrick Berg into acres of space. Berg did it smartly to cross the goal and Haaland did what Haaland has made a career of. The finish almost fell off his shin, swaying rather than flying over the line, but no one in red was complaining.

Ivory Coast threw everything they had into seven frantic minutes of stoppage time. Konan forced Nyland into the last important save, crosses kept raining into the Norwegian box and every clearance was welcomed as a goal.

That wasn’t enough.

Norway, who edged the expected goals battle 2.02 to 1.36, march on to face Brazil and Haaland once again delivers when it matters most.

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Issued by:

Debodinna Chakraborty

Published on:

01 Jul 2026 0:59 IST