EAST RUTHERFORD — Erling Haaland scored twice as Norway secured a place in the World Cup knockout stage with a 3-2 victory over Senegal on Monday, continuing his remarkable scoring run and keeping pace in the race for the Golden Boot.
The Manchester City striker took his tournament tally to four goals, moving level with France’s Kylian Mbappé and one behind Argentina captain Lionel Messi.
Norway became the second team from Group I to book its place in the round of 32 alongside France after collecting consecutive victories.
Marcus Pedersen opened the scoring in the 43rd minute after replacing the injured Julian Ryerson earlier in the match. Martin Ødegaard’s pass was poorly cleared by Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly, allowing Pedersen to fire home on his World Cup debut.
Haaland doubled Norway’s advantage three minutes after halftime when he raced onto a pass from Ødegaard and finished past goalkeeper Édouard Mendy following a swift counterattack.
Senegal reduced the deficit through Ismaïla Sarr in the 53rd minute, but Haaland restored Norway’s two-goal cushion five minutes later.
Patrick Berg delivered a pass into the penalty area and Haaland produced a composed finish with his right foot to score his second goal of the evening.
The 25-year-old celebrated in front of thousands of Norwegian supporters, who responded with the traditional Viking Row chants behind the goal.
Haaland has now scored 24 goals in his last 12 international appearances and has found the net in each of those matches. He has also become only the second player in the past 50 years to score two goals in each of his first two World Cup appearances, matching England captain Harry Kane’s achievement in 2018.
Senegal continued to fight and Sarr scored his second goal deep into stoppage time, but the African side suffered its second consecutive defeat of the tournament.
The Lions of Teranga must now defeat Iraq in their final group match and hope other results favor them to advance as one of the best third-placed teams.
Norway, meanwhile, will face France on Friday with top spot in Group I at stake.
Goalkeeper Édouard Mendy was forced off with an injury in the 63rd minute, adding to Senegal’s concerns ahead of the decisive final round of group matches.
Source: Saudi Gazette