Erling Haaland ensured the battle for the World Cup’s golden boot is not a two-horse race with an electrifying brace in Norway’s win over Senegal in New Jersey.
After Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe added to their tallies for the tournament to five and four respectively, the Manchester City forward kept himself within a goal of Messi as he scored a quickfire couple after the half-time break.
Norway opened the scoring in the 43rd minute when Marcus Holmgren Pedersen capitalised on a defensive howler from Kalidou Koulibaly to sneak a ball past goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.
Haaland got his first almost immediately after the break when he found himself in the perfect position to fire home a brilliant counter-attacking run and pass from Martin Odegaard.
Senegal struck back five minutes later through Ismaila Sarr, but Haaland restored Norway’s advantage in the 57th minute with a deft first-touch strike that was lofted over Mendy and into the back of the net.
Sarr guaranteed a thrilling finish when he scored his second at the start of stoppage time, but Norway were ultimately able to fend off Senegal’s late rally.
The result guarantees progression to the knockout rounds for Norway, who have won two group stage games for the first time in their history.
Senegal will need a victory against Iraq to give themselves a chance of making it to the round of 32.
Watch every game of the FIFA 2026 World Cup live on RTÉ with highlights on RTÉ Sport digital platforms and live blogs on RTÉ.ie/sport and RTÉ News app
Listen to the RTÉ Soccer podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.