Norway’s prolific striker Erling Haaland bagged two goals in his maiden World Cup appearance on Tuesday to guide his team to an opening 4-1 Group I victory over Iraq, and put down a marker for the tournament. The 25-year-old, one of the most exciting forward in world football, was in the spotlight long before the match, and he lived up to his big-name billing on his debut on the biggest of stages, as Norway returned to the World Cup after a 28-year absence. It was always going to be an uphill struggle for Iraq, who returned to the World Cup for the first time in 40 years after grabbing the last available World Cup place with a 2-1 win over Bolivia in their intercontinental playoff in March. But they had been battle-hardened by 21 qualifying matches and they kept their composure, snatching a stunning equalizer 10 minutes later, with Aymen Hussein, whose goal against Bolivia had sent them to the World Cup, rising higher than three Norwegians in the box and heading in an Amir Al Ammari cross. Their joy, however, was short-lived when Haaland pounced on a weak back pass to Iraq’s Jalal Hassan. The keeper hesitated before trying to clear the ball but instead hit Haaland, with the ball bouncing off his knee into the net for his 57th goal in 51 international matches. Iraq refused to give up, repeatedly coming close in first-half stoppage time as both teams, with a combined World Cup absence of 68 years, delivered a scintillating opening 45 minutes. The pace dropped somewhat after the break but Norway struck again in the 76th, sealing their win with substitute Leo Ostigard’s glancing header, before under-pressure Hussein scored an own goal deep into stoppage time.
