- Norway have won five of their last ten in all competitions (D3, L2).
- Ivory Coast have won seven of their last ten in all competitions (D1, L2).
- Norway are the market favorite for this fixture.
Cagey clash awaits at Dallas Stadium
Norway are the favourites ahead of this World Cup 2026 knockout clash with Ivory Coast, but there is little to choose between these two in the quality department and the safest play here could be to go with the draw.
The Eagles are 1.91 here compared to 4.16 for the Elephants and 3.8 for the draw, which seems a touch odd as Ivory Coast have a better form profile in recent matches.
Emerse Faé took over as coach of Les Elephants in January 2024 and has them playing a flexible 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 system that makes them compact, tough to break down and dangerous in transition.
Norway's Philippe Clement has been in charge since November 2025 and prefers a more direct approach with his 4-3-3 system, but with Erling Haaland on their team they can be deadly on the counter.
So this has all the makings of a tactical battle, but Ivory Coast and Norway have played some excellent football at the World Cup to get this far.
The Elephants came through Group E 2026 with a 1-0 win over Ecuador, a 2-1 defeat to Germany and a 2-0 win over Curacao, while the Eagles overcame Senegal 3-2 before losing 4-1 to France in Group I.
Norway's two Group I matches suggest they can be a little fragile when they concede as they will always push forward and look to play through the centre, but they can also hit you with a flurry when they get on a roll.
So it should be close, but Norway's favourite tag and the presence of Haaland in their ranks gives the European side a slight edge in our eyes.
The Manchester City man is Norway's headline act and has four of his nation's 11 goals in their last five matches in all competitions, while Nicolas Pepe has been a livewire for the Ivorians with three of their ten goals in the same period.
Our preferred selection is BTTS-NO at 1.98 as this will be cagey, tight and could easily go either way, while the under 2.5 goals also looks a live one and Norway or Draw in the double chance market is our recommendation for the main selection at Dallas Stadium.
