DistantNews
Support us
🇳🇬 Nigeria /Sports

World Cup: Haaland fires Norway into last 16, France, Mexico look to advance

From The Punch · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Erling Haaland scored a late winner to secure Norway's first-ever World Cup knockout victory, a 2-1 win over Ivory Coast.
  • Norway will face Brazil in the last 16, with Haaland aiming to add to his five tournament goals.
  • France and co-hosts Mexico are also looking to advance to the knockout stage later on Tuesday.

Erling Haaland propelled Norway to a historic 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast, marking their first-ever advancement to a World Cup knockout stage. The Manchester City striker netted the decisive goal in the 86th minute in Arlington, Texas, after Amad Diallo had canceled out Antonio Nusa's opener for Norway.

Norway, who had been eliminated in the knockout round in their previous two World Cup appearances in 1938 and 1998, will now face Brazil on Sunday for a spot in the quarterfinals. Haaland is in strong form, having scored five goals in the tournament so far, trailing only Lionel Messi.

The win served as a significant vindication for Norway's coach Stale Solbakken, who had faced criticism for fielding a weakened team in their final group stage match against France. Meanwhile, France and co-hosts Mexico are set to play their respective Round of 16 matches later on Tuesday, with France facing Sweden and Mexico taking on Ecuador.

They have quality all over… They have won the World Cup before and they have a fantastic manager. An exciting challenge awaits us, and we will have to play the game of our lives, clearly.

— Graham PotterSweden coach, commenting on the challenge of facing France.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Punch. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog