Erling Haaland matched Kylian Mbappe's two-goal effort earlier in the day as Norway made a winning start to their World Cup bid against Iraq.
It did always feel like this might be the day the superstars made their mark on the World Cup, with Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and A Certain Lionel Messi all in action.
No pressure, Leo, but Mbappe and Haaland now have two goals each in opening victories that didn’t entirely convince.
Haaland’s were the two less striking of the four non-own-goals in a game that was hugely entertaining in the first half before drifting and eventually petering out almost entirely in the second as Iraq ran out of puff and Norway pulled clear in the closing stages.
For the first 45 minutes, Iraq were excellent. The equaliser provided by a thumping Ayman Hussein header both one in the eye for the USA after his delayed entry into the country and fully deserved reward for the wider endeavours of a team that, on this evidence, could absolutely have made an impression on this tournament if not so harshly drawn.
Things get no easier for Iraq after this in a group also featuring France and what we already knew to be a very fine Senegal team who, even in defeat, did nothing to suggest they won’t be significant players in the weeks ahead.
What Iraq got was a painful lesson in the fine margins of life against the very best. Haaland’s two opportunistic striker’s goals were decisive, the first of them a Man City-coded effort in which Haaland arrived late at the back post to slide in and convert a delicious David Moller Wolfe cross from close range.
The second goal is the one that will haunt Iraq. They had just equalised and had Norway visibly rattled when a short backpass was exacerbated by a split-second delay from Jalal Hassan that allowed Haaland to nip in. Two goals from a combined distance of about five yards from the game’s pre-eminent finisher.
But only relatively late on, following a raft of post-hydration-break changes as Stale Solbakken tried to re-insert some energy and urgency to proceedings, did Norway make the points safe.
With Iraq’s defensive ranks understandably preoccupied by Haaland and Alexander Sorloth, substitute Leo Ostigard enjoyed the freedom of the area to run in and thump home another header from a corner.
A scruffy fourth arrived in injury time for Norway, Aymen Hussein eventually credited with an own goal to go with his one at the right hand as Haaland’s header bounced off him under pressure from Kristian (son of Erik) Thorstvedt.
Right up until that final moment of the game, Haaland was pursuing a hat-trick that had appeared odds-on after his two-goal first half. And it was notable throughout that Haaland was a far more involved participant in Norway’s general play than is so often the case at club level where he is routinely accompanied by multiple Antonio Nusa-types instead of just the one.
But the addition of two further non-Haaland goals and Norway’s biggest ever win at a World Cup finals are not insignificant given the relatively high difficulty tariff of this group. With France and Senegal to come there remains a live chance that Norway finish third in this group, at which point goal difference could yet be a factor.
Norway were the conspicuous danger lurking in the lower reaches of the initial group-stage draw. On today’s evidence, whoever finishes third in this group might perform the same role in the last 32.
