Haaland scores twice as Norway rout Iraq in World Cup opener

The cruelest minute belonged to Aymen Hussein. After lifting Iraq back into the contest with a goal of his own, the striker’s night ended in the harshest possible fashion, with a late own goal that sealed Norway’s 4-1 victory in Group I at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, near Boston.

Erling Haaland made the moment even bigger. In his first World Cup match, the Norway forward scored twice, in the 29th and 43rd minutes, announcing himself on the tournament stage with the kind of direct, relentless finishing that has made him one of the most watched players in the world. Leo Østigård added Norway’s third in the 76th minute before Hussein’s misfortune in the sixth minute of stoppage time completed a scoreline that did not fully reflect how much of the night had already turned on fine margins.

For Iraq, Hussein’s arc was painfully abrupt. His goal in the 39th minute brought hope and briefly cut into Norway’s lead, but the forward finished the match carrying the weight of the result as much as any teammate. Tournament football is often decided by a single touch, and Hussein lived both sides of that reality in one match: first as scorer, then as the player whose own touch settled the final score.

Norway’s return carried its own significance. The national team had not appeared at a World Cup for 28 years, and FIFA noted that both Norway and Iraq were back on the global stage for the first time this century. That context made Haaland’s debut even more emphatic, with his first two World Cup goals helping Norway open Group I with a commanding win and raising expectations immediately around a team that now looks far more dangerous than a side simply happy to be back.