Côte d’Ivoire vs Norway | 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 32 | Tuesday, June 30 | 1PM EST | AT&T Stadium | Arlington
Côte d’Ivoire (+265) | Draw (+250) | Norway (+105)
Over 2.5 Goals (-125) | Under 2.5 Goals (+100)
Côte d’Ivoire +0.5 (-125) | Norway -0.5 (+100)
Côte d’Ivoire and Norway meet in Dallas on Tuesday — two Group Stage runners-up, and two sides who have never faced each other in their history.
Côte d’Ivoire battled to second place in their group with a hard-fought win against Ecuador courtesy of an Amad Diallo goal in the 90th minute. After a narrow defeat to Germany, they handled business against a spirited Curaçao side to advance to the Knockout Stage for the first time in their history.
Norway secured their ticket to the Knockout Stage with wins over Iraq and Senegal. For their final group game against France, Ståle Solbakken didn’t want the smoke and decided to rotate heavily and rest his starting lineup, denying Erling Haaland the opportunity to add to his four goals.
A historic moment for Côte d’Ivoire. A chance for Norway to pick up where they left off.
CÔTE D’IVOIRE TEAM NEWS
Emerse Faé has a doubt up front — Amad Diallo was subbed off at half-time against Curaçao and his availability is unclear. If fit, he joins Yan Diomandé and Nicolas Pépé as genuine pace threats across Ivory Coast’s front line.
Wilfried Singo, who picked up a hamstring injury against Germany, is ruled out for Tuesday. Evan Ndicka — the Roma center-back who missed the first two group games with a thigh injury — returned to the squad against Curaçao and it remains to be seen whether he’s reached the fitness levels required to start.
Côte d’Ivoire Predicted Lineup 4-3-3
Manager: Emerse Faé
GK: Y. Fofana
RB: G. Doué | CB: O. Diomandé | CB: O. Kossounou | LB: G. Konan
CM: C. I. Oulaï | CM: F. Kessié | CM: I. Sangaré
RW: N. Pépé | CF: A. Bonny | LW: Y. Diomandé
NORWAY TEAM NEWS
Norway will be without Julian Ryerson, who hobbled off after 13 minutes against Senegal with a thigh muscle issue. Solbakken has no other injury or suspension concerns and will restore the lineup that started their first two group games.
Norway Predicted Lineup 4-3-3
Manager: Ståle Solbakken
GK: Ø. Nyland
RB: M. Pedersen | CB: K. Ajer | CB: T. Heggem | LB: D. M. Wolfe
CM: M. Ødegaard | CM: S. Berge | CM: F. Aursnes
RW: A. Sørloth | CF: E. Haaland | LW: A. Nusa
MATCH BREAKDOWN
Solbakken has built this Norway side to hit teams quickly in transition, using the long passing range of their midfielders to release Haaland, Antonio Nusa and Alexander Sørloth into space. Captain Martin Ødegaard is the engine of it all, roaming freely between the lines to link play and unlock defenses with his vision and delivery.
The numbers back up Norway’s threat. Across their first two group games, they racked up 29 shots and seven goals from an xG of 4.72 — roughly 0.16 per attempt — meaning they’ve outscored their numbers by more than two goals. More importantly, they’re getting quality service to Haaland. The Manchester City forward has generated 2.69 xG from 10 shots and converted four of them, averaging 0.27 xG per attempt as he tries to keep pace with Lionel Messi for the Golden Boot. I’ve excluded the France game given the heavy rotation.
Côte d’Ivoire’s defensive numbers hold up well against the strongest teams in their group, Ecuador and Germany. The Elephants surrendered 28 shots totaling 2.90 xG — around 0.10 per attempt — and will need to restrict Norway and Haaland to a similar or lower xG rate if they’re to get anything from this game.
The threat runs both ways though. Faé has built Côte d’Ivoire to press high, win the ball back quickly and attack at speed through the wide channels. Amad Diallo and 19-year-old Yan Diomandé are the primary outlets on the flanks — two ball carriers who can confidently drive at defenders and break lines to get in behind and create chances, as Diomandé showed when he assisted Pépé’s opener against Curaçao. Norway’s full-backs David Møller Wolfe and Marcus Pedersen will need to be alert from the first whistle given that two of the three goals they conceded against Iraq and Senegal originated from crosses out wide.
With both sides built on pace, pressing and quick transitions, the midfield battle looks decisive. Whoever controls the center of the pitch controls the match.
THE BET
With both teams pressing high and attacking in transition, this has the makings of a chaotic, end-to-end game. Both sides are going to play to their strengths with the ball moving forward quickly, and that approach could leave space at the back for the other to exploit.
Norway have already shown they can rack up the shot counter and create high-quality chances for Haaland to finish. The Manchester City man is -115 for anytime goalscorer in 90 minutes, and I’m locking that price in now — expect it to shorten as we approach kickoff.
Côte d’Ivoire’s pace on the break and quality on the wings gives them a real route to goal of their own. Add in two attacks that have looked sharp and two defenses that aren’t exactly watertight, and the value points toward Over 2.5 Goals (-125), with Both Teams To Score Yes (-155) the standout for me.
Pick: Erling Haaland Anytime Goalscorer in 90 minutes (-115)
Pick: Same Game Parlay Both Teams To Score Yes (-155) and Over 2.5 Goals (-125) = (+102)
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