Sports
Haaland buries Ivory Coast
Norway booked their place in the Round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup after defeating Ivory Coast 2-1 in a hard-fought Round of 32 clash on Tuesday.
The encounter was closely contested, with both teams creating chances as they battled for a place in the next stage of the tournament.
Norway broke the deadlock in the 39th minute when Antonio Nusa calmly finished to hand his side a deserved first-half lead.
Ivory Coast responded strongly after the restart, drawing level in the 74th minute through Amad Diallo, who restored hope for the African side and set up a tense finish.
However, Erling Haaland proved to be the difference, scoring the decisive goal in the 86th minute to seal a dramatic 2-1 victory and send Norway into the last 16.
The strike also strengthened Haaland’s bid for the tournament’s Golden Boot, taking his goal tally to five and moving him into second place in the scoring charts behind L
ionel Messi.