More than the return of Norway, absent from the World Cup since 1998, or the return of Iraq, absent since 1986, the expectation in Boston was for the debut of Erling Haaland, 25, Manchester City’s prolific striker, top scorer in three of the last four editions of the Premier League.
And in his first match at a World Cup, Haaland did not disappoint in the 4-1 victory, with 2 goals in his style — a combination of strength and speed.
The Norwegian now shares the competition’s artillery with Havertz (Germany), Balogun (USA), Mbappé (France), Just (New Zealand), and Ayari (Sweden).
The game started warm, unlike the intense heat in Boston. Right at the beginning of the game, at 6 minutes, the Manchester City striker made the first impactful move of the game, when he used his physical size to win the header with the marker still in the middle and sprint towards the baseline. The cross, however, was intercepted by the goalkeeper.
At 11 minutes, a shot over striker Al-Hamadi was the closest Iraq came to scoring a goal, enough to cheer up the crowd. The Norwegians in the stands, in fact, were celebrating despite the low technical level of the first half, simulating rowing a Viking boat.
Haaland and Atletico Madrid’s hard-working Sorloth still had other chances. But until the hydration stop, nothing very exciting happened.
The second part of the first half, however, was hectic. At 27 minutes, Norwegians Nusa and Wolfe made a good combination on the left, with Wolfe crossing low into the area. The ball was passing when Haaland threw himself to open the goal marker.
The goal unlocked the game and Norway continued on top, with unsuccessful attempts by Sorloth and Odegaard, Arsenal midfielder and team captain.
However, in a rare well-articulated move by the Iraqi attack, Ali Jasim turned the ball around the Norwegian defender and passed it to Al-Hamadi already inside the area. The striker got up for Aymen Hussein’s accurate header, which tied the game, in the 37th minute.
Also scorer of the goal that qualified Iraq for the World Cup, Hussein almost didn’t manage to play in the World Cup. The player was detained at Chicago airport and was interrogated for seven hours before being released.
It didn’t take long for Haaland to score another goal from Haaland: in the 42nd minute, on a ball, defender Tahseen passed it to the goalkeeper without much force. When Hassan tried to move away, the Norwegian striker in a frantic rush was already on top of him to share the ball, which ended up in the goal, 2-1 for Norway.
In stoppage time, Iraq almost equalized twice. In the main chance, in the 51st minute, Akam Hashem shot hard from the edge of the area. The ball went over the top, hitting the net, and deceiving part of the crowd.
The game returned to the second half as at the beginning of the first, with few chances and a more rhythmic rhythm.
Despite needing the result, the Iraqis were unable to propose the game, and left the ball with the European team. Until the hydration break, the Norwegians had 58.4% possession of the ball.
With the strong heat, 28 minutes into the final stage, the Norwegians made four substitutions in one shot, giving rest to the attackers Sorloth and Nusa — Haaland, no. By this time, the Iraqis had also made four changes.
In a corner in the 31st minute, Haaland caught the attention of two markers and defender Ostigard, one of those who had just entered, headed in Odegaard’s cross, 3-1. Not even the goal made Iraq open up any more. On the European side, the team seemed satisfied with the result and also took the Arsenal midfielder off the field.
In the last play of the game, midfielder Thorstvedt shared the ball after a confusing move in the area (with the participation of Haaland, again). The goal was scored against Hussein, precisely the scorer of the Iraqi goal.
In the second round of Group I, Norway will face Senegal, in New Jersey, next Monday (22). Iraq travels to Philadelphia to face France.
