Ivory Coastvs
NorwayThere are losses you can live with and losses that linger. For Ivory Coast, this one at AT&T Stadium will linger. They came back from a goal down, dominated the corner count 14 to 3, put 14 shots on frame against nine, and still left Arlington empty-handed because Erling Haaland does what Erling Haaland does in the 86th minute.
Norway advance. Ivory Coast go home.
The First Half
The game's first real moment of quality came from Antonio Nusa. Martin Ødegaard threaded the ball through in the 39th minute and Nusa finished cleanly — a goal that looked almost too composed for a knockout stage. El chispudo de Nusa, finding space where there wasn't much. He picked up a yellow card right at the stroke of halftime, a booking that would have consequences if Norway go deep in this tournament, but he'd already done his job.
Norway carried a 1-0 lead into the break looking the more controlled side — 52.9 percent possession, 90 percent pass accuracy — but Ivory Coast were not in trouble. Not yet.
The Comeback That Almost Was
The second half belonged to the Elephants. They pressed higher, won corners in clusters, and pulled level in the 74th minute when Amad Diallo converted a Nicolas Pépé assist. It was the goal the crowd of 69,665 had been building toward, and for fifteen minutes, Ivory Coast looked like the team that would go through.
The numbers back up how hard they pushed: 14 corners to Norway's three, 14 shots to nine, and four saves from the Norwegian goalkeeper compared to just one at the other end. Ivory Coast were not outplayed in the second half. They were, in the cruelest possible way, outscored.
Haaland
Four minutes from time, Patrick Berg found Erling Haaland. That sentence, in a World Cup knockout match, does not need much more explanation. Haaland scored. Norway led 2-1. Ivory Coast had nothing left in the tank to answer.
¡Ala gran púchica! — four minutes. That's all the margin Norway needed, and that's all Haaland required.
Our pre-match read made Norway the favorite at 45 percent, and the result vindicated it, even if the road there was far messier than anyone expected.
Verdict
Norway will feel fortunate in one sense — Ivory Coast created enough to win this game, and on another night they do. But tournament football rewards the team that takes its chances when the big moments arrive, and Norway had Haaland. That is not a small thing to have.
For Ivory Coast, the question now is whether this group has another World Cup cycle in it. Several of these players are in their prime, and they gave a genuine account of themselves. It just wasn't enough. The corners, the shots, the pressure — all of it erased by one Haaland touch in the 86th minute.
Norway move on. The rest of the draw should take note.
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