Senegal fought back until stoppage time but couldn’t draw level and must beat Iraq for a chance to progress.Published On 23 Jun 202623 Jun 2026Erling Haaland scored his second World Cup brace in a row as Norway beat Senegal 3-2 at New York New Jersey Stadium to secure their place in the last 32.Norway substitute Marcus Holmgren Pedersen struck late in the first half, before Haaland doubled the lead shortly after the break in the Group I fixture on Monday.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listIsmaila Sarr cut the deficit for Senegal, only for Haaland to punish more slack defending as Norway progressed to the knockout rounds with a game to spare, despite a late consolation from Sarr.Manchester City forward Haaland now has four goals in two games at the tournament, hot on the heels of Lionel Messi’s double earlier in the day, which carried him to a record 18 World Cup goals. Not to be outdone, Kylian Mbappe scored another brace, too, as France beat Iraq 3-0.Norway have lost only once in their last 18 matches and will take on France in a compelling battle for top spot in the group in Boston on Friday.Senegal must beat Iraq, who are also without a point, in their final game to stand a chance of avoiding an early exit.Led by the unstoppable Haaland, who increased his astonishing international goals tally to 59 in 52 games, Norway recorded back-to-back wins at the World Cup for the first time.They added weight to the belief they can do serious damage at these finals with a dominant display against a Senegal side that paid heavily for their errors.Norway quickly set the tone as Kristoffer Ajer’s header forced Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy into a terrific save with his legs at a corner, but they lost full-back Julian Ryerson to injury early on. Advertisement Captain Martin Odegaard skied over an inviting cut-back from the right for Norway, as Nicolas Jackson looked to be Senegal’s most dangerous threa …
