Ismaïla Sarr double not enough as Norway edges Senegal 3-2

Norway left MetLife Stadium with three points and a place in the knockout stage, but Senegal finished with the sharper warning. Ismaïla Sarr scored twice, including a stoppage-time goal that cut the margin to 3-2 and forced Norway into a frantic final defense under heavy rain in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

The Group I match kicked off at 20:00 local time in New Jersey, midnight in Dakar and 02:00 in Oslo, a detail that matched the uneven rhythm of the night. Erling Haaland scored twice for Norway, while Sarr answered with a brace for Senegal, first in the 53rd minute and then again after a series of rebounds in added time. Norway had restored a two-goal cushion through Haaland in the 58th minute, only for Senegal to keep driving at the back line until the final whistle.

That late surge mattered as much as the result. Senegal entered the match after a 3-1 defeat to France on 16 June in New York, and for long stretches against Norway it looked capable of forcing a different ending. Even after Haaland’s second goal put Norway back in command, Senegal kept finding space, second balls and pressure in the box, turning the closing minutes into a test of Norwegian composure rather than a routine finish.

Norway’s victory secured qualification to the round of 32, but the margin never felt secure once Sarr began to pull Senegal back into the game. The rain only sharpened the sense that Norway’s control was slipping, and the defensive line spent the last phase retreating under repeated Senegalese attacks.

The final score will show a Norwegian win and a Haaland double, but the more troubling trajectory belonged to the side that lost. Senegal, despite taking another defeat, exposed how vulnerable Norway looked when the match became chaotic and the ball kept bouncing inside the area. For Norway, advancement came with a warning; for Senegal, the late pressure suggested a team still capable of bending a game even when the result is already against it.