Erling Haaland’s late strike sent Norway through to the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 for the first time, while Kylian Mbappé’s brace helped France maintain their perfect run as Les Bleus also advanced.
In Dallas, Norway edged Côte d’Ivoire 2-1 thanks to Haaland’s 86th-minute winner at the Dallas Stadium. Antonio Nusa opened the scoring for Norway with a superb curling effort, but substitute Amad Diallo levelled in the 74th minute after a slick give-and-go with teammate Nicolas Pépé. The match looked set for extra time until Norway countered late: Patrick Berg’s forward run released a square pass that Haaland placed into the net, his fifth goal of the tournament. Côte d’Ivoire pressed strongly in the second half and came close to equalising again when Diallo’s 25-yard free-kick forced a brilliant fingertip save from goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland. The result sparked jubilant celebrations among Norwegian players and supporters as Norway prepare to face five-time champions Brazil in the Round of 16.
In New Jersey, France continued their scoring streak with a 3-0 win over Sweden to reach the last 16. Kylian Mbappé scored twice and Bradley Barcola added a strike as Didier Deschamps’ side recorded another convincing victory. Mbappé’s two goals took him to 18 World Cup goals overall, moving him past Miroslav Klose into outright second on the all-time list and leaving him one behind Lionel Messi. France dominated much of the first half before Mbappé opened the scoring with a composed finish inside the box. Early in the second half Michael Olise set up Barcola for the second, and Olise later slipped a through-ball that Mbappé converted to notch his 10th knockout-stage goal. Deschamps praised his squad’s focus and warned against complacency ahead of their Round of 16 meeting with Paraguay in Philadelphia on July 5.
Both results keep Norway and France alive in the tournament, setting up high-profile knockout ties as the World Cup moves into its next phase.
(Inputs from IANS)