The Round of 32 continues Tuesday at the FIFA World Cup with three more intriguing matchups on TSN.
Here’s a closer look at what to expect.
Côte d’Ivoire vs. Norway
Dallas Stadium
1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT on TSN1/3/4, TSN.ca and the TSN App
The opening match of the day features Group E runner-up Côte d’Ivoire, ranked 31st in the world, taking on Group I runner-up Norway, ranked 23rd, at Dallas Stadium in Arlington.
The winner will advance to the Round of 16 against Brazil on July 5 in New Jersey.
Erling Haaland, the 25-year-old goal-scorer sensation, is the man to watch out for in this clash. The Manchester City striker has already scored four goals over just two games in his first World Cup appearance and will need to keep on producing if the Norwegians are going to make a significant run in their first World Cup appearance since 1998.
With a chance to win their group, Norway decided to sit Haaland and other starters for their group-stage finale against 2022 World Cup runner-up France on Friday, a decision that led to a 4-1 drubbing by Ousmane Dembele and company.
Led by Haaland, Norway looked very strong in their first two matches, beating Senegal 3-2 and Iraq 4-1.
Côte d’Ivoire isn’t led by a single superstar like Norway but still has plenty of talent that can send the West African nation to the Round of 16 for the first time.
During the group stage, Côte d’Ivoire earned wins over Curacao and Ecuador and almost drew powerhouse Germany, giving up a goal in the 94th minute to fall 2-1 at Toronto Stadium, to finish second.
Villarreal forward Nicolas Pepe has provided most of the offence for Côte d’Ivoire with a pair of goals, while Franck Kessie and Amad Diallo each have one.
This is Côte d’Ivoire’s first World Cup since 2014 as they’ve failed to make it out of the group stage in each of their three previous appearances.
France vs. Sweden
New York New Jersey Stadium
5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT across TSN Network, TSN.ca and TSN App
The task will be tall for the Swedes in this one.
Four years after falling to Argentina on penalties in the World Cup final from Qatar, a match regarded as one of the best to ever be played, France has looked like a team on a mission at this year’s tournament.
The French, ranked second in the world, won all three of their Group I games, against Senegal, Iraq and Norway in commanding fashion, scoring a World Cup-tying 10 goals in the process.
The French, alongside defending champion Argentina and co-host Mexico, are the only nations to win all three of their group-stage games.
Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappé and Paris Saint-Germain’s 2025 Ballon d’or winner Ousmane Dembele each have netted, four goals while Desire Doue and Bradley Barcola, who both also play for Champions League winner PSG, have scored once.
“It is a unique moment,” Dembélé said after scoring a first-half hat trick against Norway. “But the most important was to finish first of the group in the group stage, and we are focused on the round of 32, which is the most important.”
France won their second World Cup in 2018 and could be destined to add to that total in 2026.
However, they’ll have to deal with Sweden in the Round of 32 first.
Ranked 36th in the world, Sweden finished third in Group F behind Netherland and Japan.
They routed Tunisia 5-1 in their opening match before falling 5-1 to the Dutch by the same score and drawing Japan, 1-1.
Yasin Ayari and Anthony Elanga have each scored twice for Sweden.
Despite being heavy underdog against French, Sweden’s World Cup history is not to be discounted, although it’s been decades since their peak. As the host nation, Sweden fell to Brazil in the 1958 World Cup final and own a pair of third-place finishes in 1950 and 1994. They made the quarter-final in their last appearance in 2018.
The winner of this contest will take on the winner between Germany and Paraguay in the Round of 16 on July 4.
Mexico vs. Ecuador
Mexico City Stadium
9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT across TSN Network, TSN.ca and TSN App
Tuesday’s Round of 32 action wraps up with host Mexico taking on Ecuador in Mexico City.
The winner here advances to the Round of 16 on July 5 at Mexico City Stadium against either England or DR Congo.
Mexico, ranked ninth in the world, were a well-oiled machine in Group A action, winning all three of their games, against South Africa, South Korea and Czechia, without conceding a goal. Mexico and Spain were the only teams to get through group-stage competition without allowing a single goal.
Julián Quiñones of the Saudi Pro League has two goals for his Mexican side while Raúl Jiménez, Luis Romo, Álvaro Fidalgo and Mateo Chávez have each tallied one.
Mexico, who are competing in their ninth straight World Cup, are looking to return to the Round of 16 after falling in the group stage in Qatar. They were eliminated in the Round of 16 in seven straight World Cups from 1994 to 2018 with their best showing being a quarter-final appearance in 1970 and 1986, serving as the host nation on both occasions.
Ecuador will most definitely be entering hostile territory in Mexico City as the visiting team.
Ranked 24th, the South American side snuck into the knockout stage at the FIFA World Cup for just the second time in history as a third-place team in Group E.
Ecuador dropped their opener to Côte d’Ivoire, 1-0, before a disastrous scoreless draw against tiny Curacao, a result that could have ended their World Cup dreams with a clash against football giant Germany up next.
After allowing an early goal to Germany, Ecuador finally found the back of the net for the first time in this World Cup off the boot of Nilson Angulo in the ninth minute. Gonzalo Plata would score one of the nation’s most important goals in the 77th minute to give Ecuador a lead and the eventual three points they needed to advance.
Ecuador’s only previous appearance in the knockout stage came in 2006 when they were eliminated in the Round of 16 by England.
Enner Valencia captains Ecuador and is the nation’s all-time leading scorer with 49 goals in 108 appearances.
