Côte d’Ivoire, nicknamed the Elephants, has arrived in North Texas for their knockout game against Norway at Dallas Stadium on Tuesday at noon. This is Dallas Stadium’s first knockout game.
Côte d’Ivoire arrived to cheering fans in Downtown Dallas. Downtown Dallas resident Jennifer Wallace captured the scenes from her apartment window of fans rushing to the players as they walked into the hotel.
Côte d’Ivoire is led by teenager Yan Diomande, who played some high school soccer in Florida and plays professionally in Germany. The team has never won a knockout-stage game at the World Cup. This is their first knockout-round appearance.
Norway fans are also rowing their way through North Texas, from the Fort Worth Stockyards to Downtown Dallas bars. Norway’s star striker Erling Haaland is chasing Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot Race; he’s tied with Brazil’s Vinícius Júnior at 4 goals. Messi has 6. Haaland only played in 2 group stage games, however.
Haaland was seen practicing at SMU’s Washburne Stadium ahead of the match.
Original reporting: Dallas TX News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
