Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 08:30am on 17 Jun 2026,Wednesday Sports
Erling Haaland marked his FIFA World Cup debut with two goals as Norway defeated Iraq 4-1 in their opening match of the 2026 tournament. The Manchester City striker opened the scoring before adding another after forcing an error from Iraq goalkeeper Jalal Hassan. The victory was Norway’s biggest-ever World Cup win and their first goal in the tournament since 1998. Haaland now has 57 goals in 51 appearances for Norway, underlining his importance to the national team. Iraq briefly equalised through Aymen Hussein, but Norway responded strongly to secure a comfortable win and make an impressive start to their World Cup campaign.
