Bullet point summary by AI
- Norway faces Ivory Coast in a World Cup round of 32 match at Jerry World on Tuesday night.
- The Norwegian manager made strategic changes in the last group stage match to ensure key players are rested and ready.
- All of Norway’s star players, including their talismanic captain, are set to return for this crucial knockout game.
Tuesday’s World Cup round of 32 action kicks off with a bang in Texas. Both Côte d’Ivoire and Norway were very impressive during the group stages, despite the fact neither actually topped their respective groups, with both seeking to make history.
Ivory Coast have reached the World Cup knockout stages for the very first time, while Norway are aiming to win a first ever knockout tie. The Lions have twice fallen in the round of 16, both times beaten by Italy and both times at Stade Vélodrome in Marseille but 60 years apart, in 1938 and 1998. Well, the Nordic nation’s hopes of a victory at Jerry World will be significantly greater if their talisman is leading the line.
Is Erling Haaland playing vs. Ivory Coast? Refreshed and ready to return
Following victories over Iraq and Senegal, which secured Norway’s spot in the round of 32, Ståle Solbakken made a decision that was very unpopular back at home. They had to beat France in Foxborough to pip les Bleus to top spot, but clearly that was not a priority. Solbakken made ten changes to his starting lineup at Gillette Stadium, with only Fredrik Aursnes keeping his place, and even he switched from midfield to right-back.
He did not even bring any of his superstars off the bench, as France cruised to a 4-1 victory. Thus, this was a calculated gamble, hoping that his key figures will benefit from being refreshed and raring to go. Thus, all of the Lions’ familiar faces will return, including captain Martin Ødegaard, Antonio Nusa, Alexander Sørloth and of course a certain man by the name of Erling Braut Håland.
Erling Haaland: Targeting more goals
Appearing at a World Cup for the first time, Håland is seemingly making up for lost time. He scored twice against both Iraq and then Senegal, taking ten shots across the two matches, of which seven found the target. He did though miss three big chances, so this tally could actually have been even higher.
This though simply continues Håland’s astonishing goalscoring record at international level.
Erling Haaland’s Norway scoring statistics
|
Statistics |
Haaland for Norway |
|---|---|
|
Caps |
52 |
|
Goals |
59 |
|
Minutes-per-goal |
72 |
|
World Cup goals |
4 |
|
World Cup 2026 qualifying goals |
16 |
|
Hat-tricks |
6 |
|
Opponents scored against |
25 |
Note: Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt.
Håland scored a ridiculous 16 goals in just eight qualifiers last year, including a brace against Italy at San Siro in November, as well as five when hapless Moldova were rolled over 11-1 in Oslo. A pretty high percentage of his 59 goals have come against European minnows, but the fact he scored every 72 minutes on average for the national team is outrageous, certainly not to be downplayed.
So now, following two braces at this World Cup so far, Håland will want to continue to show what he is capable of on the biggest stage. For Norway to make a deep run, with Brazil up next, if they take care of Ivory Coast, they will need Håland to continue to be a goal-bot.
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