Twenty-nine minutes. That is how long Erling Haaland waited to score his first ever World Cup goal, and by full time he had two of them plus a small role in two more.
Norway beat Iraq 4-1 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on June 17, 2026, in their Group I opener at the World Cup. Haaland scored in the 29th and 43rd minutes on his tournament debut, with Leo Ostigard adding a third in the 76th and Aymen Hussein turning the ball into his own net in stoppage time, after Hussein’s header had briefly leveled things for Iraq in the 39th minute.
Final score 4-1 to Norway. Haaland opened the scoring in the 29th minute and doubled it in the 43rd, either side of Hussein’s equalizer for Iraq in the 39th. Ostigard headed home Norway’s third in the 76th minute, and Hussein’s own goal in the 6th minute of stoppage time completed the scoreline. Norway finished with 2.52 expected goals to Iraq’s 0.80.
Norway started with intent, and Haaland looked hungry from the opening whistle.
David Moller Wolfe drove into the box on the left in the 29th minute and cut a low cross to the back post, where Haaland needed only a simple finish to open his World Cup account. Norway nearly doubled the lead moments later through Alexander Sorloth, whose effort was well blocked, and Martin Odegaard fired just wide as the pressure continued to build.
Iraq, to their credit, punished a rare lapse rather than folding.
Ali Jasim played a clever reverse pass to Amir Al-Ammari in the 39th minute, and his cross found Hussein, who planted a towering header low into the corner. The celebrations lasted four minutes.
Here’s the thing Iraq’s goalkeeper handed Norway the second goal almost by accident.
Jalal Hassan mishandled a weak back pass in the 43rd minute and could only launch a panicked clearance straight into Haaland, with the ball ricocheting into the net. It was a goal Norway barely had to work for, the kind that swings momentum entirely.
Iraq had late first-half chances of their own. Ali Al-Hamadi saw a shot trickle just past the post in stoppage time, and Akam Hashim’s volley flew narrowly over the bar, but neither side added to the score before the break.
Norway made it 3-1 in the 76th minute when Odegaard whipped in a corner from the right and Ostigard, unmarked, glanced a header past a helpless Hassan. Hassan denied Haaland a hat-trick with a fine save in the 83rd minute, only for Iraq to undo themselves one final time in stoppage time, Hussein turning a Kristian Thorstvedt flick-on into his own net.
Haaland came to this tournament as the most talked-about striker never to have scored at a World Cup. He leaves his debut with two goals, a perfect record, and a country that finally has the moment it has been waiting years to see.