Formidable France is back on the field for the World Cup round of 32, welcoming its coach back to the sideline after a one-game absence. So is Norway, which rowed into North Texas for its first knockout match in 28 years.
Meanwhile, host Mexico hopes a raucous home crowd and playing at altitude can help it prevail in Mexico City.
Elimination games continue on Tuesday with three matchups: France-Sweden, Ivory Coast-Norway and Mexico-Ecuador.
Coach Didier Deschamps is back with France after traveling to Europe for his mother’s funeral. Assistant Guy Stéphan led Les Bleus to a 4-1 win over Norway in Deschamps’ absence.
Star striker Erling Haaland scored four goals in Norway's first two group-stage games before sitting out the loss to France. He will try to lead his country to a win over Ivory Coast.
Mexico will have the home crowd behind it at Estadio Azteca after winning all three of its games in Group A. Ecuador qualified for the knockout rounds in dramatic fashion, beating soccer heavyweight Germany 2-1 in its group finale.
What to watch on June 30
— Ivory Coast vs. Norway, 1 p.m. EDT in Arlington, Texas (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)
— France vs. Sweden, 5 p.m. EDT in East Rutherford, New Jersey (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)
— Mexico vs. Ecuador, 9 p.m. EDT in Mexico City (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)
Norway rows into North Texas for showdown vs. Ivory Coast
A rested Norway was greeted by about a dozen local law enforcement officials making a rowing motion on the tarmac when the team landed in Dallas ahead of its round of 32 game against Ivory Coast.
Norway coach Ståle Solbakken said he was on the wrong side of the plane and didn’t see it, but called it a “surreal” moment for the squad.
Haaland was among 10 regulars not in Norway’s starting lineup for its group-stage finale. While some fans were disappointed, the loss to France was only four days after a 3-2 win over Senegal, and Norway had already secured a spot in the knockout stage for the first time since 1998.
“We have to do what’s best for the team. And the manager was clear and we agreed with him, that we had a really tough game before and we have a really hard game tomorrow, and we had the chance to rotate a little bit,” team captain Martin Odegaard said Monday before a training session. “We have to think about ourselves, how we can go as far as we can in this competition.”
“Some rest, I think that was the sensible thing to do. So I’m very, very happy we did that,” midfielder Sander Berge said.
Ivory Coast, in its fourth World Cup, will play its first knockout game. Les Éléphants finished second in their group, like Norway did.
Deschamps trying to lead France to another deep World Cup run
Deschamps learned of his mother’s death the day after France’s win over Iraq on June 22, which clinched advancement from the group stage.
“I’m here. I’m good, and it’s good to be busy since Friday evening when I arrived back in the United States,” Deschamps said Monday through an interpreter.
France swept its group matches for the first time since 1998, joined by Argentina and Mexico as the only nations to win all three games. Seeking their third title after 1998 and 2018, Les Bleus would face Germany or Paraguay in the round of 16 if they get past the Swedes.
Deschamps coached France to the 2018 title and to the 2022 final, which Argentina won on penalty kicks.
Captain of France’s 1998 champions, Deschamps took over as coach in 2012 and said in January he would retire this summer. He is trying to become the second coach to win two World Cup titles after Italy’s Vittorio Pozzo in 1934 and 1938.
France striker Marcus Thuram won’t be available against Sweden because of a calf injury and midfielder N’Golo Kanté is uncertain.
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Sweden defender Isak Hien will miss the match with a hamstring injury that forced him from last Thursday’s game against Japan in the 37th minute.
Sweden's results were all over the place during group play and it finished third in Group F. Sweden beat Tunisia 5-1 in the opener before losing to the Netherlands 5-1 and then fighting to a 1-1 draw with Japan.
France is meeting Sweden at the World Cup for the first time.
Mexico hopes home crowd, altitude can be an advantage
Mexico’s best World Cup performances came when hosting the tournament in 1970 and 1986, reaching the quarterfinals on both occasions.
The current squad — which opened the tournament with three consecutive wins for the first time in its history — will play Ecuador, aiming to win its first knockout-stage match since June 1986, when it defeated Bulgaria in the round of 16.
“I don’t know if we’re favorites but playing at home and with our fans behind us, we want to do things right,” left back Jesús Gallardo said before Monday’s training session.
In addition to the fans, the Mexicans benefit from the altitude — 7,350 feet (2,240 meters) above sea level — a factor that has helped the team lose only two matches in its history at Estadio Azteca.
“We have a 90-minute match ahead of us, plus extra time and possibly penalties, so we shouldn’t focus on the altitude but rather on playing football the way we have so far,” Gallardo added.
Ecuador reached this round by finishing third in Group E, behind Germany and Ivory Coast.
More World Cup news
— Belgium center back Zeno Debast practices at World Cup for 1st time while recovering from leg injury
Stat of the day
— Gabriel Martinelli's stoppage-time winner for Brazil against Japan on Monday in the 95th minute was the country's latest goal in normal time to win a World Cup game.
This story has been corrected. A previous version misattributed a quote from Norway's Sander Berge. The statement was attributed in error to his teammate, Patrick Berg.
AP Sports Writers Ronald Blum, Carlos Rodriguez and Stephen Hawkins contributed to this report.
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