Haaland‍‍`s brace leads Norway to a dominant win over Iraq

Norway kicked off their World Cup campaign in style with a commanding 4-1 victory over Iraq, marking their return to football’s biggest stage after a 28-year absence.

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland was the star of the show, scoring twice to inspire the win. Norway’s other goal came from Leo Skiri Østigård, while Iraq defender Ayman Hussein scored an own goal late in the match. Hussein also netted Iraq’s only goal of the game.

Although Haaland missed out on a hat-trick, the match was a dream World Cup debut for the Norwegian striker. He opened his account in the tournament in the 29th minute, scoring his first-ever World Cup goal. In doing so, he maintained an impressive record of finding the net on his debut appearances in major competitions, having previously scored on his debuts in the UEFA Champions League, Bundesliga, and Premier League.

Haaland doubled his tally in the 43rd minute, capitalizing on a costly mistake by Iraq’s defense. A misplaced back pass left goalkeeper Jalal Hassan under pressure, and his attempted clearance struck Haaland before ricocheting into the net.

Iraq pulled one back through Hussein in the 39th minute. The team came close to equalizing in first-half stoppage time, but efforts from Ibrahim Bayesh and Akam Hashim missed the target, leaving Iraq trailing 2-1 at the break.

Norway remained firmly in control after halftime and gave Iraq little chance of a comeback. In the 76th minute, captain Martin Ødegaard delivered an excellent corner that was headed home by Østigård to make it 3-1.

Haaland had a golden opportunity to complete his hat-trick in the 83rd minute but was denied in a one-on-one situation by the Iraqi goalkeeper, whose leg blocked the striker’s effort.

Norway sealed the emphatic victory deep into stoppage time when Hussein inadvertently turned the ball into his own net in the 96th minute, making it 4-1.

The convincing win provides a memorable start to Norway’s World Cup journey as they return to the tournament after nearly three decades away.