Côte d'Ivoire face Norway on 30 June at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, with kick off between 17:00 and 18:00 GMT. These two sides have never met and that absence of head to head data matters more than it might initially appear: with Norway's true ceiling obscured by Solbakken rotating his squad heavily for their final group game, the 1-4 loss to France tells us almost nothing about what this side actually is. Côte d'Ivoire came through Group E with a 2-1 record, beating Ecuador 1-0 and Curaçao 2-0 before losing 2-1 to Germany, whereas Norway finished second in Group I behind France. Betting markets put Norway at roughly 56% to win in normal time against Côte d'Ivoire's 22%, with a draw also at 22%.
Emerse Faé took over Côte d'Ivoire in 2024 after leading them to the AFCON title as caretaker, while Ståle Solbakken's Norway are built around counter attacks, set pieces and the expectation that Haaland will finish his chances. The two managers have never faced each other.
Côte d'Ivoire have won four of their last five matches, beating Scotland 1-0 and France 2-1 in friendlies before going 2-1 in the group stage, with Pépé scoring twice in the win over Curaçao. Norway's recent run is harder to read: setting aside the 1-4 loss against France's rotated side, they beat Senegal 3-2 and Iraq 4-1 in the group stage and came through qualifying unbeaten, including a win over Italy.
Wilfried Singo is doubtful after picking up a hamstring problem against Germany, while Norway's Julian Ryerson has a thigh issue being monitored, though no major suspensions are confirmed for either side and Haaland along with the other players rested against France are all expected back. Côte d'Ivoire should line up in a 4-3-3 with Yahia Fofana in goal, a back four of Guéla Doué, Ousmane Diomande, Odilon Kossounou and Christopher Operi, Amad Diallo, Ibrahim Sangaré and Franck Kessié across the middle and Yan Diomande, Pépé and Ange-Yoan Bonny up front. Norway's 4-3-3 features Haaland as the lone striker with Ødegaard, Nusa and Sørloth in support.
The central tactical question is Haaland against Diomande and Kossounou. Norway use set pieces as a primary source of goals and with Haaland as the aerial target, Côte d'Ivoire's centre backs will be tested repeatedly from dead balls, making Sangaré and Kessié's ability to limit Ødegaard's space to dictate play all the more important. Côte d'Ivoire, for their part, showed in the group stage that they know how to protect a lead: they held Ecuador to a clean sheet in a 1-0 win and stayed competitive against Germany even while chasing the game, the kind of defensive organisation that tends to matter more in knockout football than it does in the group stage.
Côte d'Ivoire 2-1 Norway. Pépé scoring twice against Curaçao is the strongest argument for the Ivorians and two goals from someone in that form is difficult to dismiss in a match where the margin will likely be one. Norway without full rotation cover look exposed to a press and though Haaland will almost certainly score, he may not be enough on his own when Solbakken is still piecing together what his best side looks like. Côte d'Ivoire to advance.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
