Ivory Coast have become the third African nation to exit the 2026 FIFA World Cup, following the eliminations of Tunisia and South Africa after suffering a 2-1 defeat to Norway in the Round of 32.
Tuesday’s knockout fixtures saw several of football’s biggest stars deliver standout performances, with Kylian Mbappé scoring his third brace at the tournament to extend his tally to 18 goals in 18 games to go level with Lionel Messi on six goals in this year’s campaign.
Ivory Coast 1-2 Norway
Norway secured a historic first-ever FIFA World Cup knockout victory after edging Ivory Coast 2-1 in Dallas.
The Europeans took the lead just before half-time through rising star Antonio Nusa, who weaved past two defenders before curling an excellent finish beyond goalkeeper Yahia Fofana.
Ivory Coast responded in spectacular fashion midway through the second half when Amad Diallo produced a moment of brilliance to bring the Elephants level.
However, Norway regained the advantage late on. Oscar Bobb picked out Patrick Berg with a precise pass before Berg squared the ball for Erling Haaland, who calmly finished from close range to score in every World Cup match he has played at the tournament.
The victory sends Norway into the Round of 16, where they will face Brazil on 5 July.
France 3-0 Sweden
France produced another dominant display, brushing aside Sweden 3-0 to book their place in the next round.
After hitting the woodwork twice in the opening half through Kylian Mbappé and Michael Olise, Les Bleus finally broke the deadlock on the stroke of half-time. Ousmane Dembélé released Mbappé, who skipped past two defenders before firing into the far corner.
Bradley Barcola doubled France’s advantage early in the second half after being set up by Olise, who registered his fourth assist of the tournament.
Olise then provided another assist for Mbappé’s second goal of the evening, taking the France captain to three goals in the competition and moving him within one strike of Lionel Messi’s all-time World Cup tally of 19 goals.
Mexico 2-0 Ecuador
Mexico continued their impressive World Cup campaign with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Ecuador, extending their defensive record to four consecutive clean sheets.
The breakthrough came after Roberto Alvarado spotted Julián Quiñones inside his own half. The forward raced clear of the Ecuador defence before finishing confidently past Hernán Galíndez.
Quiñones later turned provider, capitalising on a defensive error by Joel Ordóñez before setting up Raúl Jiménez, who made no mistake with his finish to double Mexico’s lead.
César Montes nearly added a third, while Ecuador’s frustrations were compounded when Piero Hincapié was sent off late in the match.
Mexico now awaits the winner of the Round of 32 encounter between England and DR Congo.
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