Erling Haaland’s highly anticipated World Cup debut lived up to the astronomical hype. The Manchester City forward netted a first-half brace to power Norway to a 4-1 victory over Iraq at Boston Stadium, sealing a perfect start to their Group I campaign.
Norway set the tone from the opening whistle, monopolizing possession and suffocating Iraq’s lines. The early breakthrough came courtesy of a brilliant, weaving run down the flank by Antonio Nusa, who squared a perfect ball into the heart of the box for Haaland to comfortably tap home, making it 1-0.
Despite being pinned back for most of the half and creating little to no danger, Iraq stunned the crowd with a lightning-quick equalizer. A pinpoint cross found target man Aymen Hussein, who thudded a powerful header past Ørjan Nyland to bring the underdogs level. However, just minutes later, Haaland ruthlessly punished a horrific defensive blunder by the Iraqi backline, to secure his brace and send the Norwegians into the locker room with a 2-1 lead.
The second half was a clinic in game management by the Europeans. After regaining complete control of the midfield, Norway put the match on ice after a header from Leo Ostigard and a late goal from Kristian Thorstvedt.
With three points secured, Norway will look to punch their ticket to the knockout rounds when they square off against Senegal on Friday, June 26. Meanwhile, Iraq faces a daunting, do-or-die survival test against tournament heavyweights France.
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Norway secured a 4-1 victory in their 2026 World Cup opener and you lived every moment with World Soccer Talk!
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90'+6- GOOOAAAL FOR NORWAY!! (1-4)
Kristian Thorstvedt makes it four!!
90'- Stoppage time (1-3)
The referee added six more minutes.
85'- Yellow card in Iraq (1-3)
Zaid Tahssee received a yellow card.
80'- Modification in Norway (1-3)
Martin Odegaard was replaced by Patrick Berg.
76'- GOOOAAAAL FOR NORWAY!!! (1-3)
Leo Ostigard makes it three!
73'- Modifications in Iraq (1-2)
Ali Jasim and Hussein Ali were replaced by Ahmed Qasem and Mustafa Saadoon.
72'- Modifications in Norway (1-2)
Antonio Nusa, Fredrik Aursnes, Alexander Sorloth and David Moller Wolfe were replaced by Kristian Thortsvet, Leo Ostigard, Andreas Schjelderup and Oscar Bobb.
68'- Cooling break (1-2)
Hydration break.
63'- Nice try from Iraq (1-2)
Hussein Ali drifted unmarked to the back post following a cross, finding plenty of space to fire off a shot, but his effort sailed wide of the target.
58'- Modifications in Iraq (1-2)
Zaid Ismail and Ali Al-Hamadi were replaced by Zidane Iqbal and Marko Farji.
55'- Norway dominates the ball (1-2)
With a 60% of ball posession, Norway is dictating the tempo of the game .
50'- A slow second half start (1-2)
It's a quiet start to the second half, though Iraq appears to be pushing with more urgency as they look to equalize once again.
The second half begins! (1-2)
Iraq and Norway are already playing the second half!
Halftime!
The game goes to halftime!
45'+3- What a miss from Ibrahim Bayesh! (1-2)
Ibrahim Bayesh came inches away from equalizing, but his strike was blocked at the very last second by a defender, deflecting the ball out for a corner kick.
42'- GOOOOOAAAAL FOR NORWAY!!! (1-2)
Erling Haaland puts Norway ahead once again!
39'- GOOOOAAAAL FOR IRAQ!! (1-1)
Aymen Hussein scores with a powerful header!!
36'- Nice try from Odegaard (0-1)
Martin Odegaard tried his luck from outside the box, but his shot went wide from the post.
33'- Norway dominating (0-1)
Norway is dictating the tempo with 63% possession, while Iraq is ramping up the aggression in frantic search of the equalizer.
28'- GOOOAAAL FOR NORWAY!! (0-1)
Erling Haaland scores the opener of the game!!
25'- Cooling break
Hydration break.
23'- Sorloth almost scores! (0-0)
Alexander Sorloth had a clear chance with a header, but Jalal Hassan saved it easily.
20'- Haaland tries with a header (0-0)
After a corner kick, Haaland rised high to connect the ball with a header, but it sailed over the crossbar.
17'- Not much happening (0-0)
Both teams are defending in a great way, turning this into a highly physical, gridlocked battle.
12'- First shot of the game (0-0)
Iraq threatened again through forward Ali Al-Hamadi, who unleashed a powerful strike that sailed over Orjan Nyland's crossbar.
7'- Norway answers with Haaland (0-0)
Following a brilliant run by Haaland, the striker cut into the box and fired a pass toward the center, but Jalal Hassan caught it to smother the danger.
5'- First chance of the game (0-0)
Aymen Hussein had the first real chance of the match, sending a harmless header well over the Norway crossbar.
GAME ON!
The game between iraq and Norway is underway at Boston Stadium!
Players are on the pitch!
Players from both teams are on the field. Everything is ready for the start of the match!
Today's referees
Pierre Ghislain Atcho has been appointed to officiate the clash between Iraq and Norway. He will be joined on the field by Boris Ditsoga and Amos Abeigne Ndong, who are set to serve as the assistant referees.
Full officiating team:
- Referee: Pierre Ghislain Atcho
- Assistant Referee 1: Boris Ditsoga
- Assistant Referee 2: Amos Abeigne Ndong
- Fourth official: Patrick Mbaïa
- VAR: Guillermo Pacheco
Both teams doing warm up activities
Players for both sides have taken the field for warmups at Boston Stadium!
Norway's lineup confirmed!
Norway’s starting XI: Orjan Nyland; Julian Ryerson, Kristoffer Ajer, Torbjorn Heggem, David Moller Wolfe; Fredrik Aursnes, Martin Odegaard, Sander Berge, Antonio Nusa; Alexander Sorloth, Erling Haaland.
Iraq lineup confirmed!
Iraq’s starting XI: Jalal Hassan; Akam Hashem, Zaid Tahseen, Merchas Doski, Hussein Ali; Ali Jassim, Amir Al-Ammari, Ibrahim Bayesh, Zaid Ismail; Aymen Hussein, Ali Al-Hamadi.
Kickoff time and where to watch
Iraq vs Norway will get underway at Boston Stadium at 6:00 PM (ET).
Fubo, DirecTV Stream, Sling, Peacock Premium, FOX, Telemundo and Hulu + Live TV are the options to watch Iraq vs Norway in the USA.
Iraq and Norway clash in a 2026 World Cup Group I game
Welcome to World Soccer Talk's live blog! Iraq and Norway clash at Boston Stadium for 2026 World Cup Matchday 1 of Group I.
Stay with us for all the action and minute-by-minute updates of this exciting game!
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