On July 1, Côte d'Ivoire winger Amad Diallo Traore, in an interview with FIFA, spoke about the team's historic journey in the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the significance of his goal in the narrow loss to Norway.

Although Côte d'Ivoire's FIFA World Cup dream has ended, they can leave North America with their heads held high. As a team participating in the FIFA World Cup finals for the fourth time, they made history by successfully reaching the knockout stage for the first time.

In the Round of 32 match at Dallas Stadium, they narrowly lost 1-2 to Norway, just one step away from advancing, but the team's performance throughout the tournament was impressive. Despite the eventual defeat, Amad Diallo Traore remained proud of the achievements of this young Côte d'Ivoire team.

Amad Diallo Traore said: "We are really proud of what we have achieved. We are the youngest team in this tournament, so we can be completely proud of ourselves. We had participated in three previous tournaments but failed to advance from the group stage; this time, we did it."

Amad Diallo Traore came on as a substitute in the second half and quickly changed the pace of the game. He scored after a brilliant collaboration with Nicolas Pépé, equalizing for Côte d'Ivoire in the 74th minute.

This was also the Manchester United player's second goal in this FIFA World Cup, having previously scored in the group stage against Ecuador, leaving precious memories for the 23-year-old player.

Amad Diallo Traore said: "Scoring a goal is a very important thing because it is a dream come true in itself. I have always dreamed of being on the world's biggest stage, so scoring here is truly incredible. Even if we ultimately lost the match, this moment is still part of the victory."

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