Erling Haaland double fires Norway to dominant victory over Iraq at World Cup
(Reuters)
Erling Haaland scored two goals on his tournament debut, leading Norway to a 4-1 victory over Iraq in Boston, which placed them at the top of Group I.
Norway opened the scoring after 29 minutes with Haaland’s first goal, assisted by David Moller Wolfe, following a build-up from Sander Berge.
Iraq briefly equalised through Aymen Hussein’s header in the 39th minute, but Norway quickly regained the lead just four minutes later when a goalkeeping error by Jalal Hassan saw the ball ricochet off Haaland into the net.
Leo Ostigard extended Norway’s lead to 3-1 in the 76th minute with a header from a Martin Odegaard corner, effectively putting the result beyond doubt.
Norway secured their fourth goal in stoppage time, initially involving Haaland and Kristian Thorstvedt, but ultimately recorded as an own goal by Aymen Hussein as he attempted to block it.
