Norway fall 4–1 to France, face Ivory Coast in the round of 32

France 4–1 Norway, Ivory Coast next for your team

Your team lost heavily in the Group I finale, but the knockout stage was already secure. Dembélé scored a hat-trick and Doue added the fourth before Aasgaard pulled one back (5) (12). France 4–1 Norway, and the French press called the attack "on another level" (8).

Solbakken rested Haaland and Odegaard from the start, and it showed. Norway go through as runners-up and face Ivory Coast in Dallas on Tuesday in the round of 32 (2) (4).

Solbakken: resting the stars was a "no-brainer"

The manager did not flinch. Solbakken called the decision to bench Haaland and Odegaard "a no-brainer, both on my part and from the physios and some players themselves" (4).

He had already secured qualification with the 3–2 win over Senegal. The France group finale was for first place, and Solbakken chose the bigger picture (4).

Brazilian pundits are not buying it

Felipe Melo and Renato Augusto went in hard on the rotation. Melo said you cannot leave a World Cup match with time to rest and simply take four goals because you played the reserves. "I would never do that," he added (2).

Dembélé scored three, says he played better against Senegal

Ousmane Dembélé put three past Norway's second string and then downplayed it. He told the press he preferred his game against Senegal or the Ireland friendly. "I think I had much more influence on the game," he said, adding that "very important things are coming" (15).

Deschamps returns Saturday, France did it for him

French assistant Guy Stéphan said the players wanted to deliver something special for Didier Deschamps, who missed the match for his mother's funeral. Stéphan told the squad at full-time that Deschamps would be back at training Saturday (3) (13).

Fan reactions

Norwegian supporters online are split. Some accept Solbakken's logic, pointing out the Ivory Coast tie is the one that matters. Others feel a 4–1 defeat on the World Cup stage stings regardless of who was on the pitch, and a rotated lineup should still put up more of a fight against a group rival. See the thread on r/NorskFotball