Norway were the beneficiaries Tuesday night, June 16, in their first World Cup match since 1998. Their star striker bagged a pair of first-half goals and Leo Ostigard wasted no time adding a third after coming off the bench later on.
That was a winning recipe for Norway against Iraq, and it put them atop Group I thanks to this 4-1 triumph at Boston Stadium. Kristian Thorstvedt’s header in stoppage time caromed off Aymen Hussein for an own goal – the Iraq striker wound up scoring for both teams on this perfect summer night in front of 63,106 fans.
“Obviously we have to win,” Norway midfielder Sander Berge said. “That’s the main thing – win games. You’re not participating at a World Cup or Euros just trying to perform.”
Norway bettered the 3-1 result posted by France against Senegal earlier in the day, and they did so partly thanks to one of the world’s premier attacking talents. Haaland stabbed home a cross from David Moller Wolfe in the 29th minute, a lunge at the back post with his left foot. He added a second just before halftime, pouncing on a defensive mistake by Iraq to redirect an attempted clearance from keeper Jalal Hassan.
“We had a good match plan,” Iraq defender Merchas Doski said. “But like I said, we made too many mistakes. Then we conceded from these mistakes.”
Haaland’s opener came just after the hydration break in the first half. Antonio Nusa found Moller Wolfe on an overlapping run down the left wing, and he picked out Haaland darting for the back post. His connection was enough to take the ball past Hassan and make it 1-0.
“You can always see the hunger in him when it’s game time and there’s something at stake,” Berge said. “He’s out there and he’s an animal. He delivers all the time.”
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