Haaland's late verdict kills die-hard Elephants

Two moments of football magic coming from Amad Diallo for the entire 90+7 minutes are just not enough to reach the World Cup last-16! That's something Ivory Coast and their fans should be aware of after their World Cup dream was put to bed on Tuesday night in Dallas.

Norway are off to face Brazil in the Round of 16 following a 2-1 win secured by Erling Haaland's late tap-in.

Emerse Fae's men fought bravely against the star-studded European favourites, and were minutes away from securing extra time against Haaland, Odegaard, Sorloth and others. Alas, the Manchester City striker had other plans, pushing his team to their first-ever WC 1/8-finals.

It was not one of the nicest games we've seen at this tournament so far, but a few brilliant moves will definitely be remembered for a while. Like Antonio Nusa's opener near the half-hour mark, which woke us up from a rather dull opening sequence. The player of Nigerian origin who represents Norway collected the ball on the left side of the box, moved it onto his right foot, and then fired it superbly into the far corner to break the deadlock at 1-0.

The Ivorians found themselves with their backs to the wall, as Haaland and Sorloth missed back-to-back chances to double the lead almost instantly. Still, the first half ended 1-0, and the African side grabbed a chance to restore its confidence and bounce back.

Although we expected to see lots of fireworks on both ends, the importance of the match probably affected both teams. Despite trailing, the Elephants didn't have solutions for Norway's defensive block, and Fae had to come up with something miraculous - then came Amad Diallo.

The Manchester United youngster demonstrated his absolute brilliance, breaking the stalemate with a jaw-dropping solo run that could rival Nusa's screamer. Diallo played a one-two with Nicolas Pepe before driving towards the goal, dribbling past two defenders, and finishing smoothly to make it 1-1.

It was a fantastic goal, with 15 minutes plus stoppage time to go, as it seemed like we were heading into another extra time, in a third game in a row.

Norway's coach, Stale Solbakken, decided to take off Sorloth and shift the game's momentum by bringing on Manchester City's Oscar Bobb, whose presence made a massive difference. He brought energy and drive.

Finally, it was Bobb who started a crucial three-piece action in the 85th minute that led to Haaland's winning goal. Berg found Bobb on the right, and the latter sent a perfect pass to unmarked Haaland in the middle of the box. It looked a bit clumsy, but the robust attacker scored in the 13th competitive international game in a row to book a Round of 16 battle with Brazil.

Diallo stepped up again for Ivory Coast with a stoppage-time free-kick, but the Norwegian keeper made a stunning save to deny Diallo’s long-range missile and call it off for today.

WORLD CUP - KNOCKOUT STAGE

Round of 32

Sunday

South Africa - Canada 1-0 (0-0)

/Eustaquio 90+2/

Monday

Brazil - Japan 2-1 (0-1)

/Casemiro 56, Martinelli 90+5 - Sano 29/

Germany - Paraguay 3-4 on penalties (0-1)

/Havertz 54 - Enciso 42/

Tuesday

Netherlands - Morocco 2-3 on penalties (1-1)

/Gakpo 72 - Diop 90+1/

Ivory Coast - Norway 1-2 (0-1)

/Diallo 74 - Nusa 39, Haaland 86/

00.00: (1.30) France (5.80) Sweden (9.00)

Wednesday

04.00: (2.25) Mexico (2.95) Ecuador (3.85)

19.00: (1.30) England (5.20) Dr Congo (11.0)

23.00: (2.15) Belgium (3.25) Senegal (3.75)

Thursday

03.00: (1.43) USA (4.60) B&H (8.50)

22.00: (1.32) Spain (5.25) Austria (10.0)

Friday

02.00: (1.95) Portugal (3.40) Croatia (4.10)

06.00: (1.95) Switzerland (3.45) Algeria (4.00)

21.00: (3.15) Australia (2.95) Egypt (2.55)

Saturday

01.00: (1.17) Argentina (7.50) Cape Verde (16.0)

04.30: (1.70) Colombia (3.60) Ghana (5.50)

***odds are subject to change***