Norway beat Senegal to reach knockout stage. Is Erling Haaland the scariest thing in football?
After 28 years away, Norway, led by the irrepressible Erling Haaland, have started this World Cup with a bang and are already into the knockout stage.
First they dismantled Iraq by a 4-0 scoreline, then at MetLife they dispatched Senegal, winning 3-2 thanks to two goals by Haaland and another by Marcus Holmgren Pedersen. Ismaila Sarr scored twice for the Africa Cup of Nations champions, including a very late goal that set up a nervy finale for Norway.
Norway’s final match of Group I is against one of the tournament favourites France, who also have two wins from two. Both teams have already confirmed their place in the round of 32 and that game on Friday June 26 (3pm ET) will be a fascinating watch.
The team that wins Group I will play a third-place team from Groups C, D, F, G or H in New York/New Jersey on June 30, while the runner-up will face the team that finish second in Group E in Dallas on June 30. That is likely to be Ivory Coast, who play Curacao in their final group match.
Jack Lang, Jordan Campbell and Adam Crafton analyse the key talking points from Norway’s win at MetLife…
Is Erling Haaland the scariest thing in football?
It was like something from a horror film. A hulking figure, silently approaching, somehow unseen. Violins. A scream. These poor goalkeepers; they just can’t see the danger coming.
Against Iraq, the victim was Jalal Hassan. Here it was Edouard Mendy, dallying, dallying, dallying on the ball until finally being brutalised by the monster of the penalty area.
On this occasion, against all odds, Erling Haaland’s prey escaped him. After nabbing possession from Mendy, his shot cannoned back off the near post. It was, in its own way, a deeply shocking moment; Haaland does not miss chances like that. He sunk to the floor, pounded the floor, howled into the night air.
Football is not an individual sport but Haaland is a competitor. He will have known that Lionel Messi had scored twice for Argentina against Austria and that Kylian Mbappe had found the net in the France-Iraq game (Mbappe scored another while this game was going on). When you average over a goal a game at international level, you expect to be in the conversation when the Golden Boot is handed out. And you expect to score when the goal is open in front of you.
His thirst would be sated in the second half. Haaland slammed home Norway’s second then doubled up, redirecting a cross past Mendy. The goals took his tournament total to four. He is level with Mbappe and just one behind Messi.
And if there is one man you don’t want snapping at your heels, it is Haaland. Especially on a dark night.
Jack Lang
Have Norway got the best fans too?
The Norway “row” has been a vivid feature of the opening weeks of this World Cup, as the travelling Norwegians fans sought to recreate the spirit of the Vikings and charm their American hosts by rowing in unison on trains, subways, escalators and in New York City’s world-famous Times Square.
On Monday afternoon and evening, a brutal rainstorm swept into New York and New Jersey, but that was not going to dampen the spirits of a Norwegian fanbase which is attending its first World Cup in almost three decades, and which has a team that appears capable of contending towards the latter stages of the competition.
The rowing buzz has even extended to the Norwegian parliament, where a session was interrupted last week after the speaker asked members of all parties to come together and row in their seats in unison to support the team’s World Cup bid.
In the first half, as Norway attacked in waves, forcing several saves from goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, it almost felt as though the army of red-shirted Norwegians behind the goal were pulling the ball into the opponent’s goal, and super-charged Haaland, who pressed from the front with pace and ferocity.
The row will become one of the memorable images of the tournament’s fandom; up there with the Iceland Viking Clap, South African vuvuzelas, the Tartan Army, and the Japanese fans assisting with the post-game clean-up operations.
Adam Crafton
This was another frustrating night for Senegal
This has been an absorbing tournament in so many ways, but do please spare a thought for the great losers of the first couple of weeks. I am talking, of course, about the journalists — specifically those asked to select their World Cup dark horses (aka surprise package) before the thing kicked off.
Turkey? Two defeats, already knocked out. Good. Thanks.
Ecuador? Lost to Ivory Coast, couldn’t beat Curacao. Zero goals. Thanks.
Uruguay? Draws against Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde. Thanks.
Senegal? This made it two games, two defeats. See above.
Pape Thiaw’s men have, in fairness, had two incredibly difficult fixtures. They play Iraq in their final game and could yet make the knockout stages. Still, their fans will rightly feel disappointed tonight.
Against France, Senegal played reasonably well, only to be undone by individual quality. Here, especially in the first half, they were too passive, too meek, too directionless in attack. They looked, frankly, like they would be happy with a draw. That they came to life after falling behind only made the slow start all the more frustrating.
Sadio Mane got the assist for Senegal’s goal but had little impact beyond that (IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters/Caean Couto)
There is quality in Thiaw’s squad. He is a good manager. Something, though, has to change if they are to escape the bonfire of the dark horses before the end of the group stage.
Jack Lang
Is any other nation as reliant on two players as Norway?
As Martin Odegaard broke forward, more options appeared with every step he took.
Two, then three, then four. Some to his left, others to his right. There was only one player he was ever likely to pick — the ponytailed man galloping through the middle.
Odegaard waited and waited before pulling the trigger. Senegal had two defenders back but, as soon as Haaland got within a yard of the last man, Odegaard knew what to do.
He threaded an inch-perfect ball through the middle of the defenders and Haaland lifted the ball over Mendy to make it 2-0.
Before the tournament started, this was the script that many would have presumed: Odegaard assisting Halaand. Norway’s two star players combining to score.
Football is never usually as straightforward in reality but this was an exception. A straight dribble, a straight run and a straight pass.
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters/Vincent Carchietta)
Odegaard took command of this game more than he did against Iraq, directly combining more often with Haaland. It was a promising sign for Norway because for a duo widely framed as a pairing, they have very different instincts.
Haaland is fifth gear, foot to the floor. His own flaw being his lack of subtlety at times. Odegaard, on the other hand, is an artist but often guilty of taking the long way around, doing a little too much.
There was a similar opportunity in the 68th minute which captured those different styles. Odegaard declined the direct pass to Haaland, who had peeled out wide and was one vs one with the centre-back. He received it again and attempted to take on a man rather than find Haaland early, which resulted in Haaland voicing his displeasure.
Perhaps no other nation has two such outsized stars as Norway. Having ended a 28-year wait to make it here, the duo have not suffered from stage fright.
Jordan Campbell