Erling Haaland picked the biggest stage imaginable to remind everyone that he is, in fact, ridiculously good at putting a ball in the back of a net. The Norwegian striker scored twice before halftime on June 16 as Norway dismantled Iraq 4-1 in their Group I opener at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
It was Norway’s first World Cup match since 1998. Twenty-eight years of waiting, and Haaland made sure the return was worth the extended intermission.
A first half that Iraq would rather forget
Haaland opened his World Cup account in the 29th minute, registering his first-ever goal in the tournament.
Iraq briefly found life when Aymen Hussein pulled one back in the 39th minute, trimming the deficit and injecting a sliver of hope into a match that was rapidly slipping away. That hope lasted approximately four minutes.
