Erling Haaland once again proved that no occasion is too big for him, scoring twice on his FIFA World Cup debut as Norway opened its 2026 campaign with an impressive 4-1 victory over Iraq.
The Manchester City striker has built a reputation for making immediate impacts wherever he goes. He scored a hat-trick on his UEFA Champions League debut for Red Bull Salzburg, another hat-trick on his Bundesliga debut for Borussia Dortmund, a brace on his Premier League debut for Manchester City, and now two goals in his first appearance on football’s biggest stage.
Haaland’s performance came just hours after France superstar Kylian Mbappé inspired Les Bleus to a 3-1 victory over Senegal with a brilliant double. The Norwegian striker responded in emphatic fashion, leading his country to a memorable opening win.
Despite having just 11 touches in the first half, fewer than any other player on the pitch, Haaland’s influence was decisive. The 25-year-old slid in to convert a dangerous cross from David Moller Wolfe shortly before the half-hour mark, scoring Norway’s first World Cup finals goal in 10,220 days.
The significance of the strike was remarkable. Norway’s previous World Cup goal came at the 1998 tournament, a full 759 days before Haaland was born.
Norway coach Ståle Solbakken admitted afterwards that he sensed his star striker was ready for the occasion.
“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, and I felt he would do it for us today.”
Even Iraq coach Graham Arnold was full of praise for the Norwegian forward.
“He’s just an amazing number nine,” Arnold said. “He’s so strong, so quick, and he’s just lethal.”
Arnold also warned that Norway could emerge as one of the tournament’s surprise packages.
“Norway could shock a lot of people with the team they have. They could go a very long way,” he added.
The victory gives Norway the perfect start to their World Cup campaign and reinforces the growing belief that they possess the quality to compete with the tournament’s elite.
For Haaland, meanwhile, it was another landmark occasion marked by goals, records and a performance that confirmed his status as one of world football’s most feared forwards. On the biggest stage of all, the prolific striker delivered exactly what Norway expected.
