Haaland inspires Norway on World Cup debut as Arsenal begin title defence with win

The 2026 World Cup might have been six days old, but it felt as if it really began on Tuesday, as Erling Haaland strode out for his first appearance and scored twice to inspire Norway to a 4-1 win over Iraq – hours after Kylian Mbappe had become France’s all-time leading scorer with two superb goals in a 3-1 victory against Senegal. Haaland, who has made a habit of scoring on his debuts in the Champions League, Bundesliga and Premier League, opened his World Cup account just before the half-hour, sliding in to stab home David Moller Wolfe’s teasing cross from the left. It was Norway’s first World Cup finals goal in 10,220 days – the last, in 1998, came 759 days before Haaland was born. After Iraq briefly levelled with a towering Aymen Hussein header, the 25-year-old was rewarded for chasing down a backpass, charging down an attempted clearance from goalkeeper Jalal Hassan and bundling the ball into the net. "You can see he lived up to the occasion – it wasn't too big for him," Norway manager Stale Solbakken said. "I had a good feeling before the game, the last training session was very good. I had a feeling he would do it for us today." Iraq head coach Graham Arnold added: "He's just an amazing number nine. We dealt with him quite well for a lot of the game [but] at the end of the day he's a top striker. Norway could shock a lot of people with the team they have. They could go a very long way." Arnold revealed he spoke to Haaland after the final whistle, telling him: "You're one of the best number nines I've ever seen. He's so strong, so quick and he's just lethal." Speaking on BBC One, co-commentator Stephen Warnock said of the first goal: "One thing you know is that guy Haaland will find it, he will do everything he can to get on the end of it. A simple finish for a man of his quality. It just had to be him." Haaland was named man of the match. Separately, Arsenal began their reign as Premier League champions with a routine win over Crystal Palace in a party atmosphere at Selhurst Park.