2026 WORLD CUP: Haaland sparkles as Norway sees off Senegal in five-goal thriller to book place in knockout

Haaland scored twice in a 10-minute spell shortly after half-time to guide Norway to victory after substitute Marcus Pedersen had given the European side the lead shortly before the break. Ismaila Sarr twice breathed life into the Senegal challenge, netting at 2-0 and again at 3-1 to set up a nail-biting finish in a thrilling encounter. 

But Norway, in its first World Cup since 1998, held on to move onto six points in Group I, level with France at the top of the group. Sarr’s late goal means they will have to beat France in Foxborough on Friday if they are to top the group; however, France holds a slight edge on goal difference. 

“We played against a good team in Senegal,” Haaland said. “So it’s not easy, but we managed to win the game… I’m part of something special. Norway is a part of something special. We’re making history.”

In a highly entertaining contest, it was Haaland who once again took center stage after the Norwegian striker marked his World Cup debut with a brace against Iraq last week. Haaland had been anonymous for much of the first half but sprung to life early in the second with two first-time finishes of the highest quality to twice give Norway a two-goal cushion. 

It was a night to forget for Senegal’s Kalidou Koulibaly, however, whose errors directly contributed to Norway’s first and third goals. 

As in their 3-1 defeat against France, Senegal looked impressive for large parts, controlling possession and playing tidy football. Like against France, however, they struggled to create clear-cut opportunities – a problem not shared by Norway, which routinely sliced its way through the Senegal defense and had a clinical forward in Haaland to strike knockout blows. Senegal, in Nicolas Jackson, had no such forward. 

Norway started on the front foot, winning four corners in the first four minutes, and should have hit the front from one of them when Antonio Nusa’s inswinging corner found Kristoffer Ajer unmarked on the edge of the six-yard box. The Brentford defender planted his header straight at Edouard Mendy, who produced an excellent save with his feet. 

Senegal eventually settled down and began to control possession in a cagey first half, but they badly lacked a creative influence in midfield and appeared toothless for much of the opening quarter. 

It was Norway who looked the more dangerous, and they should have taken the lead shortly before the first-half hydration break, when a Pedersen cut-back found Odegaard in space in the Senegal penalty area. Odegaard, however, could only blaze over from about 15 yards out. 

Odegaard had an even better chance to open the scoring eight minutes before half-time when Haaland produced his first meaningful touch of the game to majestically cushion a Nusa pass into Odegaard’s path. Unmarked, the Norway captain took the ball down on his chest to go clean through on Mendy’s goal, but the Senegal keeper spread himself well to smother the effort. 

Norway didn’t have to wait long for the opener, though, which was presented on a platter when Koulibaly timidly cleared an Odegaard through ball into the path of Pedersen on 43 minutes. The substitute took two touches to set himself before unleashing a powerful shot from just inside the area that seemed to go through Mendy’s hands.

Mendy did his best to offer Norway a second before the interval when he wildly attempted to dribble past the Manchester City forward, only to be dispossessed. Haaland could only hit the post from a narrow angle, however, and slammed the ground in frustration after Mendy saved his close-range header during the same phase of play. 

Haaland was wheeling away in celebration within three minutes of the restart when he finished off a devastating counter-attack with a clinical first-time finish after Odegaard had threaded the eye of the needle to set him up. 

Sarr gave Senegal hope five minutes later when he collected a Sadio Mane flick and shrugged off the desperate attention of David Moller Wolfe and somehow dug out a finish past the advancing Ørjan Nyland to half the deficit. 

Haaland ensured that the hope was short-lived when he guided home a Patrick Berg cross off the underside of the crossbar with unerring precision on 58 minutes. Koulibaly was again culpable after he failed to clear in the build-up, allowing Berg to nip in and win back possession in the penalty area. 

Norway had the chance to kill off the contest entirely when Oscar Bobb teed up Nusa after a spectacular run down the left on 89 minutes. Nusa’s goal-bound effort was cleared off the line by Pathé Ciss, who produced an equally spectacular header to divert the effort. 

They were made to pay three minutes later. 

Sarr set up a grandstand finish in second-half injury time when he collected a pass from Jackson and curled past Nyland from close range. 

Sarr almost completed a dramatic comeback in the ninth minute of added on time when he rose highest to meet an Ismail Jakobs header at the near post. His header sailed over, however, and with it, Senegal’s chances of rescuing a point. 

“I was just done,” Norway manager  Ståle Solbakken said. “The last 10 minutes were the longest of our lives. Four or five of our players were cramping… It was a nightmare… We didn’t have control… and that was the only time during the game that we didn’t have control. That was after they scored to make it 3-2.”