ARLINGTON, Texas — Erling Haaland sent Norway into a round-of-16 World Cup clash with Brazil by scoring an 86th-minute winner against Ivory Coast.
The Manchester City forward, who was rested for Norway’s 4-1 group defeat against France in Boston on Friday, took his World Cup goals tally to five in three games and moved him to within one goal of Lionel Messi in the race for the tournament’s Golden Boot prize for its top scorer.
Haaland’s late goal extended his incredible record of scoring in all of Norway’s competitive games stretching back to October 2024 — a sequence that has resulted in 25 goals in 13 games.
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Norway had taken a first-half lead when RB Leipzig winger Antonio Nusa curled a stunning strike past Ivorian goalkeeper Yahia Fofana in the 39th minute.
But Manchester United winger Amad Diallo leveled the score on 74 minutes with an outstanding solo goal to keep Ivory Coast in the game.
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Haaland had been quiet until that point, but the 25-year-old delivered once again for his country when he converted Patrick Berg’s pass from close range four minutes from the end of the game.
The Norwegians now head to MetLife Stadium for their clash against Brazil. Norway haven’t lost to the Seleçãoin four previous matches, winning their only previous World Cup encounter in a 2-1 victory in 1998 in France.
