4-1 victory 

©IMAGO

Going into the World Cup, Erling Haaland has scored 54 goals in 50 games for Norway. But the 25-year-old has never scored at a major tournament for his country. A fact that no longer held true 29 minutes into the Group I match between Iraq and Norway (1-4). The Man City striker scored from a short distance to give Norway the lead. Ten minutes later, Ayman Hussein scored for Iraq. That lead lasted just four minutes as Haaland benefited from a mistake by Iraqi goalkeeper Jalal Hassan. Leo Østigård and an own goal by Hussein secured a comfortable win.

It was the sort of moment this Norwegian generation has been waiting for ever since Haaland and Martin Ødegaard burst onto the scene half a decade ago. Indeed, Norway haven’t participated in a World Cup since 1998. Despite Haaland’s incredible goalscoring record for his country, Norway failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup and the 2024 European Championships. But in the buildup to the 2026 World Cup, Norway were dominant in their qualification group, finishing six points ahead of Italy with a 37-5 goal difference, with Haaland contributing 16 goals.

Given the fact that Norway had some incredible results in the buildup to the tournament, beating Moldova 11-1 and Italy 3-0 and 4-1 on the way to North America, it is hard to fathom that their 3-1 victory over Iraq is actually the country’s biggest win at a World Cup. Norway have won just twice at a World Cup, beating Mexico 1-0 in 1994 and Brazil 2-1 in 1998. The 2-1 win over Brazil in 1998 saw Norway advance from the group stage for the first time in history. There is very little doubt that Haaland & Co. will get out of the group this time; indeed, Norway could even be one of the underdogs to go all the way this time around.