Ivory Coast, Norway chase history in last-32 clash

TDT | Manama

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Ivory Coast and Norway meet at Dallas Stadium on Tuesday with a place in the World Cup last 16 on the line in a tie that brings together two of the tournament's surprise packages. Ivory Coast have already made history by reaching the knockout phase for the first time, while Norway are enjoying their first appearance in the finals since 1998.

Emerse Fae's side emerged from a testing Group E, opening with a 1-0 win over Ecuador before a narrow 2-1 defeat to Germany in which Franck Kessie gave them an early lead. Les Elephants responded in style in their final group game, beating Curacao 2-0 thanks to a brace from Nicolas Pepe to secure second place and prolong their stay on football's biggest stage.

Norway arrive with one of the most eye-catching attacks of the group stage, having scored eight goals in three matches. Stale Solbakken's men defeated Iraq and Senegal before a 4-1 loss to France left them second in Group I, with star striker Erling Haaland hitting four goals to underline his status as one of the most prolific forwards in the world.

Ivory Coast are sweating on the fitness of defender Wilfried Singo, who missed the Curacao win with a hamstring problem, but Ousmane Diomande and Odilon Kossounou are expected to continue at centre-back, with Kessie again central to their midfield structure. Pepe is set to lead the line after his match-winning display in the group decider.

Norway, meanwhile, are monitoring Julian Ryerson's thigh issue, which could see Fredrik Aursnes drop into defence and Patrick Berg join Martin Odegaard and Sander Berge in midfield. Haaland is again the focal point of a front line also likely to feature Alexander Sorloth and Antonio Nusa, with Norway seeking to win their first World Cup knockout tie since 1998.

Recent form and defensive numbers suggest a tight contest, with Ivory Coast conceding only two goals and keeping two clean sheets in the group stage, while Norway's attacking output has been offset by just one clean sheet in their last 10 matches.