* In Norway’s second triumph over an African team after beating Senegal 3-2 in group stages in which Haaland scored twice
* Goal against Côte d’Ivoire was his 5th goal of the tournament while Kylian Mbappe drew level with Lionel Messi on 6 goals when he scored twice as France eliminated Sweden 3-0
* Co-hosts Mexico break 40-year FIFA World Cup™ curse by reaching the Round of 16 after beating Ecuador 2-0
Maravi Express
Erling Haaland has shattered Côte d’Ivoire’s FIFA World Cup™ 2026 hopes, when he netted an 86th-minute winner that sent Norway into the Round of 16 with a 2-1 victory at Dallas Stadium.
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This was Norway’s second triumph over an African team after beating Senegal 3-2 in group stages in which Haaland scored twice.
The goal against Côte d’Ivoire is his 5th goal of the tournament while Kylian Mbappe drew level with Lionel Messi on 6 goals when he scored twice as France eliminated Sweden 3-0.
Meanwhile, co-hosts Mexico have broken their 40-year FIFA World Cup™ curse by reaching the Round of 16 after beating Ecuador 2-0.
At Dallas Stadium, Haaland scored after Côte d’Ivoire’s Amad Diallo had equalised in the 74th minute canceling out Antonio Nusa’s 39th-minute opener to set up a mouth-watering clash with Brazil in New York on Sunday.
The African side had shaded the opening exchanges, with Nicolas Pepe threatening down the right, while Ghislain Konan went closest to putting his team ahead, bursting into the area to drag a shot into the side-netting.
Yan Diomande picked out Pepe with a searching ball from the right, only for the Villarreal man to mis-hit his shot, allowing the Norwegian defence to hack clear.
Haaland had been peripheral to that point, but as the end of the half drew near, Norway took control. The Manchester City striker miscued a downward header from Alexander Sorloth’s cross from the right, but the move sparked Stale Solbakken’s side into life as they upped the tempo and dominated possession.
Their growing superiority paid off when Martin Odegaard fed the ball out to the left to Nusa, who stepped onto his right foot to arc the sweetest of finishes around the flying Yahia Fofana and into the top corner.
Haaland was denied soon after by a last-ditch block, while Sorloth glanced his header across the face of goal from the resulting corner.
Emmanuel Agbadou nodded wide at the other end as the half drew to a close, while Pepe was denied by Orjan Nyland 10 minutes after the restart, having seen Guela Doue’s initial effort blocked by Torbjorn Heggem.
Amad, introduced as a replacement for Christ Inao Oulai on the hour mark, cleared Heggem’s goal-bound effort off the line before dragging his team level at the other end.
The Manchester United winger played a rapid one-two with Pepe and held off David Moller Wolfe before sidestepping Sander Berge to thump a shot into the turf that bounced beyond Nyland, prompting a mass celebration.
But it was Haaland who would have the final say. Substitute Oscar Bobb, Haaland’s former City clubmate, slid the ball into the path of Patrick Berg inside the penalty area, and he teed up the centre forward to score into an empty net with Fofana stranded.
Nyland kept out Amad’s stoppage-time free kick to maintain his side’s slender advantage and ensure Norway progressed.
At New York New Jersey Stadium, watched by 80,663, Kylian Mbappe scored twice, and Michael Olise was in scintillating form as France beat Sweden 3-0 to set up a last-16 clash with Paraguay.
Mbappe finished a superb move to break the deadlock just before half-time after France had already hit the woodwork twice, once through Mbappe and once through Olise.
The French were on top throughout against a limited Swedish side, utterly dominating in terms of possession and shots on goal.
Olise set up Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola for the second goal on 53 minutes, and then delivered a delightful pass for Mbappe to complete a convincing victory.
Mbappe’s strikes saw him move level with Lionel Messi on six goals in the all-star Golden Boot race and the captain now has 18 World Cup goals in total, meaning he is just one behind Messi’s overall record of 19 — a mark 27-year-old Mbappe will keep chasing.
He celebrated his first goal by running across to embrace coach Didier Deschamps, who missed France’s final group game against Norway to travel home for his mother’s funeral.
Deschamps will step down at the end of the competition after 14 highly successful years in charge. Going out in the last 32 would have been an anticlimactic way to depart for Deschamps, who captained the first France team to win the World Cup in 1998 and coached them to glory in 2018.
In 1998, France’s run to victory on home soil included a 1-0 last-16 win over Paraguay, when Laurent Blanc scored a golden goal in extra time.
Meanwhile, Mexico will concluding their co-hosting of the 2026 edition on Sunday in the Round of 16 as from the quarterfinals onwards, all the matches at the World Cup will be taking place in the United States.
They turned on the style at their iconic Azteca Stadium by brushing Ecuador aside 2-0 to break their 40-year FIFA World Cup™ curse by reaching the Round of 16.
The match was delayed for an hour due to stormy weather, and when it started, the co-hosts flew out of the blocks, mounting wave after wave of attacks.
In a supercharged atmosphere, Julian Quinones gave Mexico a deserved lead midway through the first half with a thunderous strike, and then turned provider for Raul Jimenez.
Ecuador desperately needed to wrest back the momentum after the break but struggled to shift through the gears, with the home side largely in control.
Mexico had not won a World Cup knockout game since 1986, when it last hosted the tournament and Tuesday’s win means Mexico are now unbeaten in 10 World Cup games at the Azteca and will fancy their chances against England or the DR Congo.
Mexico were one of only three teams in the group phase to win all three of their matches, alongside title favourites France and reigning champions Argentina, and did not concede a single goal.
Ecuador finished third in their group, scoring just two goals.
Gilberto Mora, 17, was named in the starting line-up for Mexico, becoming the second-youngest player to start a knockout match at the World Cup finals behind Brazil legend Pele in 1958.
Gilberto Mora
The home team started on the front foot, refusing to allow a shell-shocked Ecuador to settle. Jimenez wasted a glorious headed chance in the seventh minute, and Mora flashed just wide.
At the other end, John Yeboah muscled his way into the penalty area in a rare foray forward for the visitors, clipping the outside of the near post.
Mexico then took the lead in the 22nd minute when Saudi-based Quinones received the ball from Roberto Alvarado and tore down the left before driving into the box and unleashing an unstoppable shot past goalkeeper Hernan Galindez, raising the roof.
The first hydration break failed to change the script, and Mexico doubled their lead after half an hour when Quinones fed Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Jimenez, who fired a rocket into the top corner.
Mexico’s Julian Quinones scored the first goal and set up the second
Raul Rangel produced a fine save to keep out another Yeboah effort, as Ecuador got a foothold in the match, but chances kept flowing at the other end.
Ecuador coach Sebastian Beccacece made several changes after the break in an effort to find a way back into the match. But Mexico, largely content to sit back, still looked the more threatening team, with Cesar Montes twice going close.
Ecuador substitute Kevin Rodriguez poked just wide with just over a quarter of an hour remaining, but their chances ran out.
Piero Hincapie was sent off in stoppage time after covering his mouth during a confrontation with an opposition player to cap a miserable night for Ecuador.
Mexico will hope the Azteca, which hosted the World Cup final in 1970 and 1986, works its magic again in the Last 16 on Sunday.—Reporting by AFP, Reuters & Al Jazeera; editing by Maravi Express
Knockout stages results
* South Africa 0-1 Canada
* Jordan 1-3 Argentina
* Brazil 2-1 Japan
* Germany 1(3)-Paraguay 1(4)
* Netherlands 1(2)-Morocco 1(3)
* Côte d’Ivoire 1-2 Norway
* France 3-0 Sweden
* Mexico 2-0 Ecuador
Fixtures
Today
* England v DR Congo (18h00)
* Belgium v Senegal (22h00)
USA v Bosnia & Herzegovina (02h00)
Tomorrow
* Spain v Austria (21h00)
* Portugal v Croatia (01:00)
Friday
* Switzerland v Algeria (15h00)
* Australia v Egypt (20h00)
* Argentina v Cape Verde (00h00)
* Colombia v Ghana (03h30)
Saturday
* Canada v Morocco (19h00)
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