Erling Haaland starred on his World Cup debut, scoring twice to help Norway to a 4-1 win over Iraq in Boston.
The Manchester City striker was kept quiet in the first 28 minutes – with the sum of his chances a towering header that went well over the bar – but he was soon off the mark when he tapped in a square ball from Wolves defender David Moller Wolfe.
It was the 11th competitive appearance in which he had scored for Norway, dating back to November 2024, but also his 51st senior international goal in just 56 appearances.
Aymen Hussein – who was held and questioned for around seven hours by authorities when he arrived in the US earlier this month – then levelled with a brilliant header 10 minutes later. It was only Iraq’s second-ever World Cup goal and their first in 40 years.
But just before the break, Haaland chased down Zaid Tahseen’s weak pass back to goalkeeper Jalal Hassan, nipped in front and tapped home to quickly restore Norway’s lead with goal number 52.
The second half largely lacked the excitement of the first. At times, the tempo slowed to that of a training match. But with 14 minutes of the 90 left to play, substitute Leo Ostigard was able to run unchallenged to meet Martin Odegaard’s corner and head home.
Leo Ostigard scored Norway’s third in Boston
And deep into stoppage time, they managed a fourth when Haaland’s towering header was turned over the line by the unfortunate Hussein at the far post, which added the gloss and ensured Norway got off to a winning start.
The victory puts them top of Group I on goal difference following France’s 3-1 win over Senegal in the earlier game.
The key moments from Boston
- 13: Iraq’s Ali Al-Hamadi fires over under pressure from Torbjorn Heggem.
- 20: OVER! Erling Haaland leaps to meet a corner but heads well clear of the target.
- 29: GOAL! Haaland scores his first World Cup goal by tapping in David Moller Wolfe’s cross.
- 31: CHANCE! Haaland opts to tee up Alexander Sorloth instead of going alone. His shot is blocked.
- 37: Martin Odegaard fires wide from 20 yards.
- 39: GOAL! Aymen Hussein levels with bullet header.
- 43: GOAL! Haaland takes advantage of a defensive error to score his second.
- 53: Hussein meets a lovely cross from Ibrahim Bayesh, but can’t get the header on target.
- 65: Hussein Ali latches onto a cross, then lifts an effort onto the roof of the net.
- 76: GOAL! Leo Ostigard runs, leaps and heads home Odegaard’s corner.
- 83: CHANCE! Haaland passes up a chance to complete his hat-trick by firing straight at Jalal Hassan.
- 90+7: GOAL! Hussein’s own goal extends Norway’s lead in the final seconds.
Analysis: Haaland takes to a new competition with ease – again
Haaland made his World Cup debut in Boston
The Austrian Bundesliga, the Bundesliga, the Premier League, the Champions League. Everywhere Erling Haaland has gone, in every competition he has played in, he has settled immediately.
So it was perhaps no surprise one of the world’s most fearsome strikers would take to the World Cup like a duck to water, too.
Less than 30 minutes into his tournament debut – and Norway’s first appearance since 1998 – he was off the mark with a tap-in. Before the break, he had taken advantage of a calamitous error to score another. He played a part in the fourth goal, too.
And all that with just 20 touches throughout the entirety of the game in Boston. That is nothing new, but it is a reminder of the devastating impact he can have without touching the ball.
The 25-year-old is among the favourites for the Golden Boot and it is easy to see why. But you would not bet against him making significant progress towards Miroslav Klose’s all-time record of 16 World Cup goals either…