2026 World Cup: Haaland and Norway Deliver: Iraq Crushed. Austria Advances

Widely tipped as a potential dark horse for the 2026 World Cup, Norway did not disappoint in its opener in Foxborough against Iraq, in the Group I match on the first day of play: the Scandinavians crushed the Middle Eastern team 4-1. The difference-maker was the most anticipated star, Erling Haaland, who was immediately outstanding in his World Cup debut.

The Manchester City forward opened the scoring in the 29th minute with a split kick off an assist from David Wolfe, and after Iraq briefly tied the game with a goal by Hussein in the 39th minute, he made it 2-1 thanks to a blunder by goalkeeper Jalal Hassan.

In the second half, Iraq came out strong but lacked finishing touch in attack, and Norway sealed the match with a header by Ostigard off a corner kick. In the 96th minute, Hussein’s own goal sealed the victory.

Austria also got off to a positive start, defeating Jordan (making its all-time World Cup debut) 3-1 in the first match of Group J, which proved more difficult than expected. The Austrian team celebrated with a goal by Schmid and an own goal by Al Arab; the temporary equalizer by Olwan (Jordan’s first-ever World Cup goal) wasn’t enough for the Middle Eastern side. In stoppage time, after a full 10 minutes of stoppage time, Arnautovic sealed the victory with a penalty kick.