New York, United States.
Norway They beat Senegal 3-2 this Monday and, after 28 years without entering a World Cup, they qualified for the round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup thanks to another double from their star, Erling Haaland, which once again marked the difference for his team.
Twenty-three touches and six completed passes throughout the match earned Erling Braut Haaland, one of the figures of the tournament, his second double in two matches of the tournament. World Cup and match the performances of their goal namesakes, Leo Messi and Kylian Mbappe on a historic day for Norwegian football, ranking among the 32 best in the world.
This is how the Norway vs Senegal match was experienced on SofaScore
The match started as if it were a final, with both teams very cautious with the ball, knowing that a possible defeat would penalize them more than anything else.
Senegal had more ball possession at times, but threatened less than when they came out with spaces Norway and all his artillery. Sadio Mané, star of the Senegalese attack, was hardly intimidating every time he grabbed the ball.
With Odegaard in the creation, Sorloth on the right wing, Nusa on the left and Haaland As a maximum reference, Stale Solbakken’s selection held nothing back and made the Senegalese team tremble with every approach.
It had to be Edouard Mendy who tried to hold down a Senegalese defense with the feeling that, sooner or later, he was going to receive the Norwegian goal.
The current Al-Ahli goalkeeper and former Champions League winner with Chelsea made a very worthwhile save in a one-on-one against Odegaard. Mendy He went out quickly to cover as much space as possible and the shot with the Norwegian footballer’s outside instep met the body of the Senegalese.
Everything you got right Mendy In his first interventions, he missed a little later, before the break. He was even about to give a goal to Haaland who sent the ball to the post.
The least expected man opened the can. Marcus Pedersen, a Norwegian right back who entered the field due to an injury to his teammate Julian Ryerson in the 13th minute, was a hero for one night.
With this, Senegal linked 13 games in a row in the World Cup conceding at least one goal.
The goal was marked by the glaring error of a veteran center back like Kalidou Koulibaly. The captain senegalese who in his time perfected the art of defending in the Naples shirt, left a faulty clearance that Pedersen’s shot at the near post served on a plate.
It was Koulibaly again who appeared in the photo of the second Norwegian goal, this time not as a portrait but as a sign that the Senegalese defense could not stop a fierce attack like that of Haaland’s Norway.
The ‘9’ of Manchester City He took advantage of a counterattack in an open field to poke into space and, after Odegaard’s pinpoint pass, he beat Mendy over the top with Haaland’s usual calm in front of goal.
Haaland unleashed in the second half, scored his own double, this time with a pass from Patrick Berg and with Mendy unable to do anything, as he finished the play injured and had to be substituted.
On a night of adverse weather forecast like the one experienced at MetLife Stadium, there was no worse hurricane than Erling Braut Haaland who in this tournament honors his mother with her surname on the shirt and his father by playing in the same World Cup venue as in the 1994 World Cup.
With his two goals against Senegal and the other two against Iraq, Haaland reaches 59 goals in 51 games with his national team, in addition to having scored 12 consecutive games with Norway, since November 2024.
In between the recital of Haaland the Teranga Lions scored their first goal of the match, the work of Ismaila Sarr from a pass from Mané, which gave them some hope.
Sarr, a player from the English Crystal Palace, also made it 3-2 a few minutes before the final, but his double was insufficient for a Senegal that is practically eliminated, with no points and a negative ‘goal average’ of three goals in the absence of playing against Iraq.
On a night with 100% attendance according to FIFA, the red tide made the stadium vibrate with their chants and rowing movements in Viking boats, which the players themselves also did at the end of the game.
– Technical sheet:
3. Norway: Nylan; Ryerson (Pedersen, m.13), Ajer, Heggem (Ostigard, m.83), Møller Wolfe; Berge, Odegaard, Aursnes (Berg, m.45); Sörloth (Bobb, m.83), Nusa (Schjelderup, m.70), Haaland.
Coach: Ståle Solbakken.
2. Senegal: Mendy (Diaw, m.63); Diatta, Koulibaly (Mamadou Sarr, d.71), Niakhate, Diouf (Jakobs, d.53); Idrissa Gueye, Pape Gueye (Mbaye, d.53); Ismaila Sarr, Camara (Ciss, m.63), Mane; Jackson.
Coach: Pape Thiaw.
Goals: 1-0, m.43: Pedersen. 2-0, m.48: Haaland. 2-1, m.53: Ismaila Sarr. 3-1, m.58: Haaland. 3-2, m.92: Ismaila Sarr.
Referee: Wilton Sampaio (Brazil). He didn’t admonish anyone.
Incidents: Match on the second day of Group I of the 2026 World Cup played at the New York/New Jersey stadium (Metlife) in front of some 80,545 spectators. EFE
