Erling Haaland announced his arrival on football’s biggest stage with a brace as Norway defeated Iraq 4-1 in their opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The Manchester City striker delivered another memorable debut performance, continuing a trend that has followed him throughout his career.
Having previously scored on his Champions League, Bundesliga and Premier League debuts, Haaland marked his first World Cup appearance with two goals to inspire Norway to victory.
The result gave Norway a strong start to their campaign and highlighted their potential to become one of the surprise packages of the tournament.
Haaland leads Norway charge
Haaland opened the scoring just before the half-hour mark, sliding in to convert David Moller Wolfe’s low cross and register Norway’s first World Cup finals goal since 1998.
Iraq responded through Aymen Hussein, whose powerful header brought the sides level and briefly threatened to derail Norway’s momentum.
However, Haaland restored Norway’s lead after the break when he capitalised on a defensive error, charging down goalkeeper Jalal Hassan’s attempted clearance and watching the ball roll into the net.
Norway added two more goals to seal a comfortable victory, while Haaland came close to completing a hat-trick on several occasions.
Praise pours in for Norwegian star
Norway coach Stale Solbakken praised his star striker after the match.
“You can see he lived up to the occasion – it wasn’t too big for him,” Solbakken said.
“I had a good feeling before the game, the last training session was very good. I had a feeling he would do it for us today.”
Iraq coach Graham Arnold also acknowledged Haaland’s influence.
“He’s just an amazing number nine. We dealt with him quite well for a lot of the game, but at the end of the day he’s a top striker,” Arnold said.
After speaking with the forward following the match, Arnold added: “I just said to him: ‘You’re one of the best number nines I’ve ever seen.’ He’s so strong, so quick and he’s just lethal.”
The goals took Haaland’s international tally to 57 goals in just 51 appearances for Norway, underlining his remarkable scoring record.