Ivory Coast — Norway: Pressure Without A Case

Norway had the better chances and took the win, which is about as suspicious as finding rain in a cloud. Their 2.02 xG against Ivory Coast's 1.36 arrived with a 2:1 scoreline that matched the evidence rather than insulting it. Crime Index: 45%. The file stays thin.

Quality Over Volume

Ivory Coast hit more shots — 14 to Norway's 9 — but xG told the cleaner story. Norway produced 8 of their 9 attempts from inside the box; Ivory Coast managed 10 from 14. Fewer efforts, better addresses. The side with less shot noise ended up with more actual threat, which is how xG tends to work when teams stop padding the count with hopeful distance attempts. Norway also held 53% possession and completed 415 of 473 passes — not dominant, but enough to keep the match on their terms.

Fourteen Corners, One Quiet Conclusion

Ivory Coast won 14 corners to Norway's 3, which sounds dramatic until you check who kept making saves. Norway's goalkeeper stopped 4 shots; Ivory Coast's stopped 1. That gap quietly confirms where the cleaner danger kept arriving regardless of who collected the most set-piece restarts. Both sides posted GoalsPrevented at 0.44, so there is no goalkeeping subplot to rewrite the evening.

The rest reads like administrative paperwork. Fouls were nearly even at 6 to 7, both teams were caught offside twice, and Norway's conversion rate of 0.99 edged Ivory Coast's 0.74. The favourite collected the points and left very little mystery behind.