{"id":15659,"date":"2026-06-17T06:01:29","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T06:01:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=15659"},"modified":"2026-06-17T06:01:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T06:01:29","slug":"world-cup-haaland-shines-as-norway-takes-care-of-iraq","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=15659","title":{"rendered":"World Cup: Haaland shines as Norway takes care of Iraq"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

By KYLE HIGHTOWER<\/strong> AP Sports Writer<\/p>\n

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. \u2014 Norway will go as far in this World Cup as Erling Haaland takes it.<\/p>\n

Read more Lionel Messi ties World Cup goals record with hat trick as Argentina tops Algeria<\/a><\/p>\n

In his tournament debut, he showed he\u2019s more than up for that challenge.<\/p>\n

Haaland scored two goals, including one\u00a0off a defensive blunder,\u00a0on Tuesday to propel Norway to a 4-1 victory over Iraq in Group I.<\/p>\n

The Manchester City striker\u2019s 56th and 57th international goals came in Norway\u2019s first appearance in the tournament since reaching the knockout round at the 1998 World Cup in France \u2013 two years before Haaland was born.<\/p>\n

Haaland said he will do his best to meet the expectations he created with this performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course I will try,\u201d Haaland said. \u201cIt\u2019s about continuing and don\u2019t think too much. It\u2019s difficult at this stage. But I\u2019ll focus on (the) next (game) and of course be happy. But also stay calm.\u201d<\/p>\n

Norway coach Stale Solbakken said he had a feeling Haaland was ready after watching how loose he was in the team\u2019s last training session before the match.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cYou could see that he lived up to the occasion,\u201d Solbakken said. \u201cThe occasion wasn\u2019t too big for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leo Ostigard scored in the 76th minute off a corner kick from Martin Odegaard. An own-goal by Iraq forward Aymen Hussein just before the final whistle completed Norway\u2019s scoring.<\/p>\n

Hussein also scored for his team, an equalizer just nine minutes after Haaland\u2019s first strike.<\/p>\n

Read more Who\u2019s playing in the World Cup today? TV schedule for June 16<\/a><\/p>\n

Haaland put the Norwegians in front for good just before halftime when he sneaked in front of a poor back pass to Iraq goalkeeper Jalal Hassan. Haaland beat Hassan to the ball, preempting his attempted clearance, and then used his shin to put the ball in the back of the net.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one of those things. It happened,\u201d Iraq coach Graham Arnold said. \u201cIt is what is and we have to learn from it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Haaland\u2019s first goal, which came in the 29th minute, followed a cross into the box from David Moller Wolfe. Haaland slid and used his right heel to finish it off. It ignited waves of cheers from the Norway supporters, who dominated the stands clad in red as they broke out in synchronized\u00a0Viking row\u00a0chants.<\/p>\n

Iraq, playing in the World Cup for just the second time after debuting in 1986, held its own with a sizable contingent of supporters that was mostly concentrated behind one of the goals.<\/p>\n

That energy helped Iraq briefly get back into the game.<\/p>\n

In the 38th minute, Amir Alammari corralled a ball on the baseline halfway between the left corner and the goal and fired a cross in front of the net. It eluded Norway\u2019s defenders, allowing Hussein to punch a clean header that bounced under the hand of diving goalkeeper Orjan Nyland to even the score at 1-1.<\/p>\n

It was Hussein\u2019s 34th international goal. That includes his winning goal against Bolivia in Iraq\u2019s final World Cup qualifying match in April that gave the country the last spot in the 48-team tournament field.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a proud moment to be back in the World Cup after 40 years. To lose 4-1, it hurts,\u201d Iraq\u2019s Hussein Ali said.<\/p>\n

Read more US official says Iran knew team would have to leave the country shortly after World Cup match<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two goals and an assist in his tournament debut help the Norwegians, in their first World Cup appearance since 1998, to a 4-1 victory in Group I play.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15658,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-based-on-facts-either-observed-and-verified-directly-by-the-reporter-or-reported-and-verified-from-knowledgeable-sources","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nWorld Cup: Haaland shines as Norway takes care of Iraq - Silicon Valley Moving Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=15659\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"World Cup: Haaland shines as Norway takes care of Iraq - 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