A brace from Erling Haaland leads Norway to 4-1 victory over Iraq

Erling Haaland‘s World Cup debut went about as good as he could’ve hoped. With a first half brace, Haaland helped led Norway to their 4-1 victory over Iraq

Haaland took no time announcing himself in his debut.

In the 29th minute, a David Møller Wolfe pass during a Norwegian push found Haaland in the box.

And meeting it right in front of net, he sunk home his first ever World Cup goal.

Iraq, however, was not content with trailing.

Just 10 minutes later, in the 39th, Iraq would remind everyone they meant business.

An Amir Al-Ammari looping pass into the center of the box spelt trouble for the Norwegians.

And that trouble was realized when Aymen Hussein delivered home a header into the bottom right corner to equalize.

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But before the Iraqi celebrations could even end, Haaland would capitalize on a costly mistake.

A pass back to Iraqi goalkeeper Jalal Hassan saw Haaland in hot pursuit.

And unfortunately for Hassan, his clearance would ricochet off the Norwegian forward, right into goal.

But Iraq quickly forgot the mistake, hunting for another equalizer.

And they almost came through.

Iraq would take five shots in extra time but at the end of the first half but could not manage to sneak any past goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland.

Norway would take their 2-1 advantage, courtesy of a Haaland brace, into the half.

Coming out of the half, Iraq picked up right where they had left off.

In the 53rd, Hussein would strike a header towards net but would miss wide left.

All was quiet for 22 minutes following the Hussein attempt, with either nation attempting just one shot since.

That was until A Norway corner allowed Leo Østigard to strike a header past Hassan and into goal.

Right at the death, Norway would induce one final Iraq mistake.

Taking advantage of a Hussein own goal to score their fourth of the match.

The full-time whistle would ring out just moments later, solidifying a dominate Norway victory over Iraq.

Iraq and Norway will both play their second match of the group stage on Monday.

Iraq will take on France at 5 p.m.

And Norway will match up against Senegal at 8 p.m.

Follow Adrian Murillo Silva on Instagram @adrianms_official

About the Author Published Jun 16, 2026

ADRIAN MURILLO SILVA

Adrian Murillo Silva covers both MLB and soccer news for Ball Exclusives. He has previously worked with other news publications such as The Lantern, the independent student voice of Ohio State.