Haaland’s double sends Norway into the last 32 as Senegal stumble to the brink

Erling Haaland had waited his whole career for a World Cup, and now he cannot stop scoring at one. The Norway striker struck twice as his side beat Senegal 3-2 at MetLife Stadium overnight, a result that carried Norway into the round of 32 and left one of Africa’s heavyweights staring at an early exit.

Norway needed only a point to be sure of going through. They got all three, and they did it the hard way, holding off a Senegal side that refused to stop coming until the final whistle.

A wild seven minutes either side of the break

The game turned on a defensive lapse. On 43 minutes Kalidou Koulibaly, usually so reliable, miscontrolled near his own box and Marcus Holmgren Pedersen pounced to lash Norway in front. Three minutes after the restart it was 2-0, Martin Odegaard threading a pass through the lines for Haaland to slot home with the composure of a man who does this for a living.

Senegal answered almost at once. Ismaila Sarr cut the deficit on 53 minutes and the comeback was on, only for Haaland to settle Norwegian nerves five minutes later, poking in from close range to make it 3-1. Sarr completed his brace deep into stoppage time, turning in a Nicolas Jackson cross on 90+3, but Senegal had left themselves too much to do.

Haaland writes his own history

Four goals in two games is the kind of start Haaland’s talent always promised but the calendar kept denying him. He is now Norway’s leading scorer at World Cups, and he became only the second player in the past 50 years to score twice in each of his first two appearances at the tournament. The numbers feel almost inevitable when you watch how little he needs to find the net.

His coach was happy to play up to it afterwards. “He is the best striker, he is not playing for France or Argentina, he scores for Norway,” Stale Solbakken said, before pointing out that his man could have had more. “He did miss an open goal. He could have scored even four.”

For Norway, this is uncharted territory. They are at a World Cup for the first time since 1998, and the win over Senegal was already their second of the tournament, equalling what they had managed across all their previous appearances combined. Sitting alongside France on six points, they go through with a game to spare.

Senegal left needing a miracle

The flip side is grim for Senegal. Beaten by France in their opener and now by Norway, they sit on zero points and have slipped to the edge of elimination. Their only route into the knockouts is to beat Iraq on Friday and hope a strong enough goal difference sneaks them in among the best third-placed teams, the kind of margin that was supposed to be the safety net, not the lifeline.

Sarr’s two goals showed the quality is still there. The problem has been everything around it, with errors at the back and a slow start in both games leaving one of the tournament favourites among the African contenders fighting for survival.

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