Haaland nets twice on World Cup debut as Norway beat Iraq 4-1 in Group I

FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts (AP): Erling Haaland opened his World Cup account with a brace and chipped in an assist on his tournament debut yesterday, guiding Norway to a 4-1 win over Iraq in Group I.

The Manchester City forward took his tally to 56 and 57 goals for Norway. Both strikes came in the country's first World Cup outing since they reached the last 16 at France 1998 — two years before Haaland was born.

Leo Ostigard made it 3-0 in the 76th minute, heading home from a Martin Odegaard corner. Kristian Thorstvedt added Norway's fourth deep in stoppage time after Haaland laid the ball off to him.

Iraq had pulled level only nine minutes after Haaland's opener, with Aymen Hussein on the scoresheet. Yet the Norwegians regained the lead for good just before the break when Haaland pounced on a sloppy pass back to goalkeeper Jalal Hassan, reached the ball first, and prodded it home with his shin.

Haaland's first strike arrived in the 29th minute. David Moller Wolfe whipped a cross into the box and Haaland slid in to flick the ball home with his right heel. Norway fans, most dressed in red, roared their approval and broke into coordinated Viking rowing chants across the stands.

Iraq, appearing at the World Cup for only the second time since their 1986 debut, competed hard throughout. A large Iraqi following gathered mainly behind one goal and helped lift the side when the match turned tight.

The equaliser came in the 38th minute. Amir Alammari collected the ball along the byline, roughly halfway between the left corner flag and the six-yard box, and drove a cross across the face of goal. Norway's back line failed to deal with it, and Hussein powered a header that slipped beneath diving keeper Orjan Nyland to make it 1-1.

It was Hussein's 34th goal for Iraq. He had also scored the winner against Bolivia in April in Iraq's final qualifying fixture, securing the country's place among the 48 teams at this tournament.