Man City World Cup 2026 Watch: Erling Haaland stars in Norway’s opening game victory over Iraq

Man City World Cup 2026 Watch: Erling Haaland stars in Norway’s opening game victory over Iraq Erling Haaland marked his World Cup debut with a stellar brace for Norway in their Group I opener, resulting in a 1-3 win against Iraq. The Manchester City striker enjoyed a fairytale World Cup debut on Tuesday night, devastating an energetic Iraq side with a clinical first-half brace to guide Norway to a resounding 1-4 victory at Boston Stadium. Ending their country’s 28-year absence from the world stage, Ståle Solbakken’s men took the lead inside the opening half-hour when a David Møller Wolfe cross found the ever-lethal Erling Haaland sliding in at the back post. While Iraq responded with a thunderous equaliser courtesy of their play-off hero Aymen Hussein , their momentum was extinguished just moments later as goalkeeper Jalal Hassan dawdled inside his own six-yard box, allowing Haaland to charge down an attempted clearance and watch a deflection bounce into the empty net – taking his international record to 57 goals in 51 outings. Iraq continued to threaten another equaliser through near-misses from Ibrahim Bayesh and Akam Hashim . However the European side slammed the door shut on any comeback in the second half as substitute Leo Østigård rose highest to glance home a Martin Ødegaard corner on 76 minutes, before a stoppage-time own goal consolidated a heavy scoreline. Erling Haaland match statistics vs Iraq 90 Minutes 2 Goals 20 Touches 6 Shots (Most) 6 Touches In Opposition Box (Most) 4 Shots On Target 4 Accurate Passes 4 Ground Duels Won 3 Was Fouled 3 Aerial Duels Won 2 Recoveries 2 Big Chances Missed 1 Clearance 1 Chance Created 1 Successful Dribble Data courtesy of FotMob.