▲ Norway's Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring.
Led by star striker Erling Haaland (Manchester City), who scored a brace for the second consecutive match, Norway has secured a spot in the Round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
On Tuesday (June 23), Norway held off Senegal 3-2 in their second Group I match at New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Marcus Holmgren Pedersen opened the scoring, and Haaland added two goals to secure the win, despite a brace from Senegal's Ismaïla Sarr.
Norway, who cruised to a 4-1 victory over Iraq in their opening match—marking their return to the World Cup after 28 years—thanks to another brace from Haaland, has now earned six points (7 goals scored, 3 conceded) from two straight wins. They sit second in Group I behind France (2 wins, 6 goals scored, 1 conceded), who defeated Iraq 3-0 on the same day, securing an early ticket to the Round of 32.
Norway is level on points with France but trails on goal difference.
Having already secured their spots in the Round of 32, Norway and France will face off for the top spot in the group in their final group stage match on June 27 at Boston Stadium.
The clash between Haaland and France's Kylian Mbappé, both of whom have scored two goals in each of their first two matches, promises to be a highly anticipated showdown.
Senegal (3 goals scored, 6 conceded), who lost 3-1 to France in their opening match, suffered their second consecutive defeat along with Iraq (1 goal scored, 7 conceded), but remained in third place on goal difference.
Norway suffered an early setback when right-back Julian Ryerson was injured just 13 minutes into the match, forcing the hasty introduction of Pedersen.
With Ryerson, whose excellent crossing ability makes him a key contributor particularly in set-piece situations, forced off so early, Norway's game plan seemed to be disrupted.
However, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
After Kristoffer Ajer's header from a Ryerson cross in the 3rd minute and Martin Ødegaard's left-footed shot from in front of the goal in the 37th minute were both denied by Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, Pedersen finally broke the deadlock in the 43rd minute to give Norway the lead.
A pass intended for the space behind Senegal's defense was intercepted by center-back Kalidou Koulibaly, but his poor clearance fell to Pedersen, who found the back of the net with a right-footed strike from the right side of the penalty box.
Pedersen scored his first international goal on the World Cup stage, doing so after coming on as a substitute.
In the 49th minute of the first half, during stoppage time, Norway missed a chance to extend their lead when Haaland intercepted the ball from a hesitating goalkeeper and attempted a left-footed finish from the right side of the goal area, only to hit the post.
But Haaland quickly shook off the disappointment just three minutes into the second half.
He ran onto a through ball from Ødegaard that sliced through the defense and slotted it home with his left foot from the center of the box to double Norway's lead.
It was Haaland's third goal of the tournament.
Senegal did not back down easily.
In the 53rd minute, Sarr chased down a pass from Sadio Mané inside the penalty area, held off a defender, and fired a right-footed shot into the net to pull one back.
But Norway restored their two-goal cushion in the 58th minute when Haaland met Patrick Berg's low cross from the left with a first-time right-footed shot from the center of the penalty area.
Senegal suffered another blow when starting goalkeeper Mendy was forced off due to injury and replaced by Mory Diaw in the 63rd minute. Despite the setback, Senegal fought hard until the end, with Sarr scoring another goal in the 93rd minute, but they could not find an equalizer before the final whistle.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.