Ivory Coast
Norway
Round of 32 · Tuesday 30 June, 18:00 BST · AT&T Stadium, Arlington
Should be a fun one, this. Ivory Coast are into the knockouts for the first time ever and have scored first in every single group game so far, while Norway are back at a World Cup after 28 years away and have Erling Haaland chasing a record that's stood since 1954. The winner gets Brazil in the last 16 if they beat Japan, so there's plenty riding on it beyond pride.
Ivory Coast — Les Éléphants
Yahia Fofana should start in goal behind a back four of Ghislain Konan, Ousmane Diomande, Odilon Kossounou and Guéla Doué. Franck Kessié and Ibrahim Sangaré look set to sit in the two pivot roles, with Yan Diomande and Amad Diallo either side of Nicolas Pépé behind Ange-Yoan Bonny up top.
Wilfried Singo and Evan Ndicka are both pushing for recalls after their respective injuries, with Singo a bit further down that road given his is the more minor knock and he's played more recently, but I'd expect both to start this one from the bench rather than straight back into the XI. The one spot that doesn't feel fully nailed down is the right side of that front three, where Diallo gets the nod for now, though Simon Adingra and Évann Guessand will both fancy their chances if Faé wants to freshen things up. Yan Diomande has been one of the stories of the group stage regardless, the only player at this World Cup to hit double figures for both dribbles and chances created in the group phase, so whoever lines up alongside him on the other flank, the supply line should still be there.
Norway — De Norske
Ørjan Nyland should start in goal behind a back four of David Møller Wolfe, Torbjørn Heggem, Kristoffer Ajer and Marcus Holmgren Pedersen. Martin Ødegaard, Sander Berge and Patrick Berg look likely to make up the midfield three, with Antonio Nusa and Alexander Sørloth either side of Erling Haaland up top.
Julian Ryerson still hadn't trained as of Monday, so it's pretty safe to write him off here, and that points towards Holmgren Pedersen continuing at right-back, with Fredrik Aursnes the most likely alternative if Solbakken fancies a change there or in midfield instead of Berg. That's really the only uncertainty in an otherwise settled XI. Ødegaard and Sørloth are back in from the start after both were rested once qualification was already wrapped up against France, and that means Haaland gets the platform to chase down a piece of history: he's after his third straight World Cup appearance with multiple goals, something nobody's managed since Sándor Kocsis in 1954.
Predicted Lineups
Key Battle
Erling Haaland vs Ivory Coast's back four. Haaland's only really had one underwhelming outing all tournament, and that was the one game he didn't start. With Norway's main men back in, he'll get full service again, and Ivory Coast's defence, solid as it's been, hasn't faced anything quite like this in their three group games.
Prediction
The Opta supercomputer rates Norway as fairly clear favourites here, winning 56.1% of pre-match simulations inside 90 minutes against Ivory Coast's 21.6%, with the rest going to extra time. Ivory Coast have never won a World Cup knockout match against European opposition, and only two African nations in history have won their first one at all. I think Haaland's quality just about wins it, but Ivory Coast's pace on the counter and their habit of scoring early gives them every chance of making this far closer than the percentages suggest.
Ivory Coast 1–2 Norway — Pépé — Haaland, Sørloth