The Norwegian national football team, relying on Erling Haaland's brilliance and scoring two goals, defeated Iraq 4-1, breaking the invincibility spell of Asian representatives for the first time in the 2026 World Cup.
Publish dateWednesday 17 June 2026 - 12:04
Story Code : 358183
Afghan Voice Agency (AVA): In the second match of Group I of the 2026 World Cup, the Norwegian and Iraqi national football teams faced each other at 02:30 AM today (Wednesday, 17th of June) Afghanistan time at the Atlanta Stadium in the United States, which ended with a 4-1 victory for Norway.
While the game was tied without a goal until the 29th minute, Erling Haaland, on a pass across the Norwegian player, reached the ball and scored his first goal in the 2026 World Cup.
Ten minutes later, tall Iraqi striker Ayman Hussein scored the equalizer in the 39th minute with a spectacular header over the Norwegian defenders. But that was not the end of the story, as Holland scored his second goal and Norway's in the 43rd minute after a terrible mistake by the Iraqi defenders and goalkeeper to end the first half with a 2-1 lead.
In the second half, Norway opened the scoring in the 76th minute from a corner kick by Leo Ostigaard, and Christian Thorstott scored the fourth goal for the Asian team in the 90th minute + 7.
Asians' spell broken
With this result, Iraq recorded the first loss for the Asian team in the 2026 World Cup, breaking the unbeaten run of the Old Continent representatives in this period. Previously, South Korea and Australia won against their opponents, and Japan, Iran and Qatar drew with their rivals.
The referee of the match was Pierre Atcho from Gabon, who gave a yellow card to Zaid Tahseen from Iraq.
In the first match of this group, France had defeated Senegal 3-1 hours ago. In this match, Kylian Mbappe, like Holland, had managed to score twice.
Erling Haaland showed with his two goals that he is ready to make the 2026 World Cup his stage of brilliance. Ayman Hussein also recorded one of the most beautiful headers of this tournament with his spectacular goal.
According to experts, Norway, relying on the physical strength and goals of Holland, showed that it is one of the dangerous teams of this World Cup. Observers say that despite Ayman Hussein's beautiful goal, Iraq could not withstand the all-out attacks of Norway, and individual mistakes by the defenders and goalkeeper paved the way for the subsequent goals. With this defeat, the Asians' invincibility spell ended, and other Asian representatives will have to play more carefully in future games.
While the game was tied without a goal until the 29th minute, Erling Haaland, on a pass across the Norwegian player, reached the ball and scored his first goal in the 2026 World Cup.
Ten minutes later, tall Iraqi striker Ayman Hussein scored the equalizer in the 39th minute with a spectacular header over the Norwegian defenders. But that was not the end of the story, as Holland scored his second goal and Norway's in the 43rd minute after a terrible mistake by the Iraqi defenders and goalkeeper to end the first half with a 2-1 lead.
In the second half, Norway opened the scoring in the 76th minute from a corner kick by Leo Ostigaard, and Christian Thorstott scored the fourth goal for the Asian team in the 90th minute + 7.
Asians' spell broken
With this result, Iraq recorded the first loss for the Asian team in the 2026 World Cup, breaking the unbeaten run of the Old Continent representatives in this period. Previously, South Korea and Australia won against their opponents, and Japan, Iran and Qatar drew with their rivals.
The referee of the match was Pierre Atcho from Gabon, who gave a yellow card to Zaid Tahseen from Iraq.
In the first match of this group, France had defeated Senegal 3-1 hours ago. In this match, Kylian Mbappe, like Holland, had managed to score twice.
Erling Haaland showed with his two goals that he is ready to make the 2026 World Cup his stage of brilliance. Ayman Hussein also recorded one of the most beautiful headers of this tournament with his spectacular goal.
According to experts, Norway, relying on the physical strength and goals of Holland, showed that it is one of the dangerous teams of this World Cup. Observers say that despite Ayman Hussein's beautiful goal, Iraq could not withstand the all-out attacks of Norway, and individual mistakes by the defenders and goalkeeper paved the way for the subsequent goals. With this defeat, the Asians' invincibility spell ended, and other Asian representatives will have to play more carefully in future games.
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