Ivory Coast meet Norway in an intriguing Round of 32 encounter at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Ivory Coast and Norway both qualified for this stage of the competition with runner-up finishes in Group E and Group I respectively.
Team News
Ivory Coast have no fresh injury concerns to report after their 2-0 victory over Curacao.
Norway could recall Kristoffer Ajer, Sander Berge and Erling Haaland amongst several regulars who were rested in their 4-1 loss to France in their final Group I match.
When is Kick-Off?
Ivory Coast meet Norway at AT&T Stadium, Arlington, USA, on Tuesday 30 June at 12pm CDT (6pm BST), live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK.
Stat Attack
- This is Ivory Coast’s first World Cup meeting against Norway.
- Norway are facing Ivory Coast for the first time in all competitions.
- Two of Ivory Coast’s four goals in the group stage were scored by Nicolas Pepe, who scored a brace in their 2-0 win over Curacao.
- Four of Norway’s eight goals in the group stage were scored by Haaland.
Prediction
Although they clinically beat Curacao through Pepe’s ruthless finishing, Ivory Coast now need to bring sharper firepower because that aspect could well be key to their hopes of winning this tie, although two clean sheets in three group matches shows how solid their defence is.
Norway meanwhile should be right up for this clash with several regulars fully fresh after Stale Solbakken’s decision to rest several regulars against France, which certainly showed in the performance because the players put out there lacked the quality needed to go toe-to-toe against France at times.
This tie though could be pretty interesting because Ivory Coast has a solid defence yet Norway has the better firepower, of which I expect to be the difference in what could be a close batle.
Prediction: Ivory Coast 1-2 Norway
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