Erling Haaland struck twice to lead Norway to a 3-2 win over Senegal at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough overnight between Monday and Tuesday. The Manchester City forward took his total in the tournament to four goals, and became only the second player in the last 50 years to score a brace in each of his first two World Cup matches. The first was Harry Kane in 2018.
Norway went ahead through Marcus Pedersen in the 43rd minute after he came off the bench for the injured Julian Ryerson. Haaland then scored in the 48th and 58th minutes to make it 3-1. His first came after a Martin Odegaard through ball, when he finished left-footed past Edouard Mendy on a rapid counterattack. His second was a volley from about eight meters after a pass from Patrick Berg. After the goal, Haaland cupped a hand to his ear toward the Norwegian fans performing the “Viking clap.”
Haaland now has 24 goals in his last 12 internationals, scoring in every one of them, and 53 in 58 appearances for Norway. He is second in the Golden Boot race, one goal behind Lionel Messi and level with Kylian Mbappe. He nearly completed a hat trick in stoppage time, but hit the post after Mendy lost the ball. Senegal’s Ismaila Sarr scored in the 53rd minute and again in the third minute of second-half stoppage time, but the comeback fell short.
Norway, back at the World Cup for the first time since 1998, secured qualification from Group 1 alongside France. It will face France on Friday, needing a win to finish first and potentially get a more favorable knockout path. Senegal is still alive, but it has opened the tournament with two defeats for the first time in its World Cup history and must beat Iraq to keep hopes of advancing as one of the third-place teams.
