Erling Haaland continued his extraordinary scoring run with a brilliant brace as Norway booked their place in the Round of 32 with a thrilling 3-2 win over Senegal in Group I on Monday night.Making his first FIFA World Cup appearing since 1998, the Vikings secured qualification alongside France after moving to six points from two matches. They will now face Les Bleus on Friday in a battle for top spot and a potentially easier path into the knockout rounds.Haaland again proved unstoppable, taking his tournament tally to four goals and moving level with French star Kylian Mbappe in the Golden Boot race, one behind Argentina captain Lionel Messi.
Haaland brace keeps incredible scoring run alive
Marcus Pedersen, who came on in the 13th minute after Julian Ryerson suffered an injury, gave Norway the lead just before half-time.Martin Odegaard’s delivery was released straight to Pedersen by Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly, and the debutant made no mistake, with goalkeeper Edouard Mendy unable to keep out the effort.Then Haaland took his place.The Manchester City striker doubled Norway’s lead three minutes into the second half after running onto a pass from Odegaard and firing a left-footed shot past Mendy to finish off a blistering counter-attack.Although Ismaïla Sarr pulled one back for Senegal in the 53rd minute, Haaland restored Norway’s two-goal cushion five minutes later. The 25-year-old broke through the defense before turning in Patrick Berg’s cross with his weaker right foot from close range.The goal sparked wild celebrations among the sea of red-clad Norway supporters, with Haaland raising his hand to his ear as fans behind the goal performed the famous Viking Row.
The records keep falling
Haaland has now scored 24 goals in his last 12 international games and has found the net in each of those games. His overall record is 59 goals in 52 appearances for Norway.He also joined England Harry Kane as the only players in the last 50 years to score braces in each of their first two World Cup appearances.Senegal struck again through Sarr in stoppage time, but it was too late.The Lions of Teranga are now 0-2 in a World Cup for the first time and must beat Iraq in their final group game to keep alive hopes of advancing as one of the top third-placed teams.
