Norway opened their FIFA World Cup campaign with an emphatic victory over Iraq, but the final scoreline told only part of the story. Despite a comfortable win on paper, Ståle Solbakken's side faced a tougher challenge than many had anticipated against one of the tournament's perceived underdogs.

As expected, Erling Haaland played a decisive role, scoring twice to help guide the Scandinavians to all three points. Yet while the result was convincing, the overall performance left room for improvement, particularly against a resilient Iraqi team that refused to make life easy for the pre-match favourites.

Set-pieces ultimately proved to be the key weapon for Norway. Dead-ball situations allowed Solbakken's men to break down the Iraqi resistance and create the cushion they needed heading into the closing stages.

World Cup 2026

Iraq - Norway 1:4 (1:2)
Goals: Håland E., 29 (0:1); Hussein A., 39 (1:1); Håland E., 43 (1:2); Ostigard, 77 (1:3); Thorstvedt, 97 (1:4)

Iraq: Hassan; Ali H. (Saadoon, 73); Tahseen; Hashem (Qasem, 73); Doski; Ismail (Iqbal, 59); Al-Ammari; Jasim; Bayesh (Ali M., 78); Hussein A.; Al-Hamadi (Farji, 59)
Substitution: Iqbal (from 59); Farji (from 59); Saadoon (from 73); Qasem (from 73); Ali M. (from 78)
Bench: Talib; Basil Fadhil; Sulaka; Younis; Maknzi; Putros; Yakob; Sher A.; Amyn Yo.; Yousif
Yellow Cards: Tahseen 86

Norway: Nyland; Heggem; Wolfe (Ostigard, 73); Ajer; Ryerson; Berge; Odegaard (Berg P., 81); Aursnes (Thorstvedt, 72); Håland E.; Nusa (Schjelderup, 73); Sørloth (Bobb, 73)
Substitution: Thorstvedt (from 72); Ostigard (from 73); Schjelderup (from 73); Bobb (from 73); Berg P. (from 81)
Bench: Tangvik; Selvik; Holmgren Pedersen; Langås; Falchener; Bjorkan; Aasgaard T.; Hauge; Thorsby; Strand Larsen