Follow live updates and text commentary as Erling Haaland’s Norway and Yan Diomande’s Ivory Coast meet in last 32 match.
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Laget 🇳🇴 pic.twitter.com/DsR3HOQ6e7
— Fotballandslaget (@nff_landslag) June 30, 2026
African champions 🇨🇮 Ivory Coast face Norway 🇳🇴 in the last 32 of the 2026 #FIFAWorldCup.
Who will advance to the last 16 and who will head home? Vote below 👇
— AJE Sport (@AJE_Sport) June 30, 2026
Opta’s supercomputer has calculated a 56.1 percent probability of Norway winning this fixture in regulation time, while the Ivory Coast is assessed a 21.6 percent chance of victory.
The probability of going to extra time – or potentially penalties – is 22.3 percent.
Norway coach Stale Solbakken hailed the leadership of “powerhouse” Erling Haaland as he prepares his team to face Ivory Coast.
“We are very satisfied with what we have done so far,” said Solbakken: “We are in the last 32. That was the aim for the tournament, and now, we want to progress from there.”
Haaland is seeking to add to his four goals in two appearances, and Solbakken said, “He’s a great leader for us; he leads by example on the pitch.
“He has something that maybe you can’t train so much to reach it, the sniff for goals, the feeling that the ball will land at your feet or in that movement, and I think that is his biggest strength, together obviously with his explosions, his physicality.
“That combined, and the understanding that he is a good teammate on and off the pitch, makes him one of the best players in the world.”
“And if we match that, then we can keep our identity defensively and offensively, we have a chance.
“But I think it will be a very even, tight game where it can go either way in terms of who is the match winner, who has a little bit of luck on their side.”
This will be the first-ever meeting between the two nations.
Ivory Coast have won just one of their last five World Cup matches against European opposition (W1 D1 L3).
Norway, meanwhile, have only lost two of their 19 contests with African nations in all competitions (W9 D8 L2).
African champions 🇨🇮 Ivory Coast face Norway 🇳🇴 in the last 32 of the 2026 #FIFAWorldCup.
Who will advance to the last 16 and who will head home? Vote below 👇
— AJE Sport (@AJE_Sport) June 30, 2026
Don't miss a moment of the action!#FIFAWorldCup #KickOffTimes@McDonalds
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) June 30, 2026
Ivory Coast came second in Group E with six points, finishing below Germany on head-to-head record. Here’s a list of their results:
1-0 win over Ecuador
2-1 defeat to Germany
2-0 win over Curacao
Norway came second in Group I with six points, finishing below France. Here’s a list of their results:
4-1 win over Iraq
3-2 win over Senegal
4-1 defeat to France
After a hat-trick of group-stage exits between the 2010 and 2018 World Cups, Ivory Coast gear up for their first taste of knockout football. Remarkably, they only trailed for three minutes and 29 seconds during the group stage – in their late 2-1 defeat against title contenders Germany.
Nicolas Pepe is their leading scorer with two goals, both scored against Curacao, while Amad Diallo and Franck Kessie also bagged one each – highlighting the team’s attacking options.
The 19-year-old winger Yan Diomande – reportedly linked with a transfer from German side RB Leipzig to European champions Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) – has been the team’s most creative force during the tournament, surging forward from the midfield and causing havoc for the opposition defences. Diomande’s elite playmaking has also been instrumental to the nation’s historic run to the last 32.
“I think that spreading the goals around is a real strength of ours, which we can use to catch our opponents off guard and be a threat from all over the pitch, including players coming off the bench to make a telling contribution,” said coach Emerse Fae.
His striking excellence has made him a Golden Boot contender and given Norwegians reasons to rejoice as their side continues to dream big in their first World Cup appearance since 1998. Captain Martin Odegaard has also led by example, bagging two assists.
Ivory Coast’s pre-match preparations will likely concentrate on how best to stop the towering Haaland inside the penalty area in what is sure to be a thorough examination of the West African team’s defence.
Stale Solbakken has made 10 changes to the Norway starting XI that faced France.
Orjan Nyland returns in goal, Marcus Pedersen is at right-back with Julian Ryerson injured, David Moller Wolfe is at left-back with Kristoffer Ajer and Torbjorn Heggem in central defence.
Patrick Berg is the only man to keep his place in midfield with Sander Berge and Martin Odegaard alongside him and Erling Haaland leading the line with Alexander Sorloth to his right and Antonio Nusa to the left.
Andreas Schjelderup, Leo Ostigard, Henrik Falchener, Jorgen Strand Larsen, Fredrik Aursnes, Fredrik Bjorkan, Kristian Thorstvedt, Thelo Aasgaard, Egil Selvik and Oscar Bobb return to the bench.
Norway XI: Nyland (goalkeeper); Moller Wolfe, Heggem, Ajer, Pedersen; Berg, Berge, Odegaard; Nusa, Haaland, Sorloth.
Emerse Fae has made three changes to the Ivory Coast side from their starting the win over Curacao.
Ghislain Konan starts at left-back with Emmanuel Agbadou alongside him in central defence, while Christ Inao Oulai is handed a start in midfield.
Amad Diallo, Christopher Operi and Ousmane Diomande are among the replacements.
Ivory Coast XI: Fofana (goalkeeper); Konan, Agbadou, Kossounou, Doue; Sangare, Diomande, Inao Oulai, Kessie, Pepe; Bonny
African champions 🇨🇮 Ivory Coast face Norway 🇳🇴 in the last 32 of the 2026 #FIFAWorldCup.
Who will advance to the last 16 and who will head home? Vote below 👇
— AJE Sport (@AJE_Sport) June 30, 2026
Hello, welcome, and thanks for joining our live coverage of the last-32 match at the FIFA World Cup 2026 between Ivory Coast and Norway.
The Elephants are setting foot in the knockout stages of a World Cup for the first time but are widely fancied for a deep run in the tournament, built on a solid defence which did not concede a goal in 10 games in qualifying and overcame France 2-1 in Paris in a warm-up game on the eve of the tournament.
Norway are appearing in a knockout match for the third time, but lost both their previous encounters to a country beginning with I – Italy – in 1938 and 1998.
After a rest in the final group game against France, all eyes will be on Erling Haaland, who has scored twice in each of his first two World Cup games and has 59 goals in 52 appearances for his country.
I’m Alex Hoad, and I’ll bring you all the pre-match buildup, analyses, team news and photo coverage of the entire day before our comprehensive live text commentary stream, which will tell you everything you need to know instantly.
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