Tuesday’s WC schedule at the 2026 World Cup starts with Norway against Ivory Coast in Dallas, a round of 32 game that sends one team toward the round of 16 and the other out. Erling Haaland enters after scoring braces in his first two matches, but Norway is facing an Ivory Coast side that conceded just two goals in the group stage.
Norway And Ivory Coast
Norway beat Iraq and Senegal in the group stage before losing to France with a heavily rotated starting lineup. Haaland, Martin Ødegaard and Antonio Nusa did not play in that loss, so Norway did not show its full attacking group in that match.
That makes the opening game in Dallas the clearest test of the day. Norway is favored, but Ivory Coast has already shown how hard it is to break down, and its front line of Amad Diallo, Yan Diomande and Nicolas Pépé gives Emerse Faé a direct way to challenge that edge.
France And Sweden
The day’s second match sends Sweden against France at New York New Jersey Stadium, and France’s scoring run is the headline number. Didier Deschamps’ side scored at least three goals in each of its three group stage games, with Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé and Michael Olise driving the attack.
France also carries a longer-range target into the knockout round: it is expected to play in the final at the same stadium on July 19. Sweden has the bracket problem that comes with facing a team that kept producing the same scoring line across three group stage games.
Mexico In Mexico City
The final game sends Mexico against Ecuador in Mexico City, and Mexico has not conceded a goal at this tournament. That gives the host a different kind of edge from Norway or France: it has reached this point without asking its attack to outscore mistakes.
Ecuador reaches the match after facing Germany and Ivory Coast in the group stage, so Tuesday closes with three knockout tests that do not look alike. One side brings a top scorer in Haaland, one brings a three-game scoring streak from France, and one brings a shutout run that has carried Mexico into the round of 32.
For readers following the Tuesday World Cup slate, the order is set: Norway-Ivory Coast in Dallas, Sweden-France at New York New Jersey Stadium, then Mexico-Ecuador in Mexico City. The winners move on in the 2026 World Cup bracket; the rest are done after one match.
