Erling Haaland scores twice as Norway holds off Senegal to clinch spot in knockout round
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Erling Haaland and Norway rowed their way into the World Cup’s round of 32.
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Haaland scored twice to raise his World Cup goals total to four, and the Vikings clinched advancement with a 3-2 win over Senegal on Monday night.
After the final whistle, Norway’s players and staff gathered tightly in a 10-row formation just inside the penalty area at MetLife Stadium’s north end, facing their red-shirted supporters, Haaland sitting in front as teammate Martin Ødegaard banged on a bongo drum. They alternated with the fans performing the Viking Row — chanting “Ro!” while mimicking oarsmen.
“It was fun for the players to join in,” Norway coach Ståle Solbakken said through an interpreter. “We will not be rowing after the World Cup but this will be a gimmick throughout the tournament.”
Marcus Pedersen had put the Vikings ahead in the 43rd minute after replacing an injured teammate, and Haaland kept up his incredible goals streak in the 48th and 58th minutes to build a 3-1 lead.
First, he ran onto Ødegaard’s pass and put a left-footed shot past the outstretched left hand of goalkeeper Édouard Mendy, capping an end-to-end counterattack for a 2-0 lead.
For his second goal, Haaland tunneled through the defense and 8 yards out raised his weaker right foot to volley in Patrick Berg’s pass. Haaland raised a hand to an ear to inspire the Norway supporters.
Haaland has 24 goals in his last 12 international games — scoring at least once in every match — and 59 goals in 52 international appearances. The 25-year-old striker joined England’s Harry Kane in 2018 as the only players in the last 50 years with two-goal games in their first two World Cup appearances.
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He is second in the Golden Boot race, one behind Argentina’s Lionel Messi and tied with France’s Kylian Mbappé. Haaland nearly got another in first-half stoppage time, hitting a post after Mendy lost control of the ball.
“He could have scored even four,” Solbakken said. “It’s easier to win the Golden Boot when you play for France or Argentina.”
Ismaïla Sarr scored in the 53rd minute and in the third minute of second-half stoppage time for the Lions of Teranga.
Making its first World Cup appearance since 1998, Norway is assured of advancing from Group I along with France. The Vikings need to beat Les Bleus on Friday for first place and what would appear to be an easier path in the knockout bracket.
While not eliminated, Senegal is 0-2-0 in a World Cup for the first time and needs a win over winless Iraq to have any chance of advancing as a third-place team.
Pedersen entered in the 13th minute for his World Cup debut after Julian Ryerson got hurt, and he put the Vikings ahead with the help of mistakes by Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly and Mendy.
Ødegaard made a centering pass that Koulibaly cleared straight to Pedersen at the top of the arc. Pederson took two touches and sent a savable shot inside the near post that glance off Mendy’s left hand and into the goal.
Mendy left in the 63rd minute because of an injury.
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