This combo of photo shows, France’s Kylian Mbappe, left, Argentina’s Lionel Messi, center, and Norway’s Erling Haaland in motion in the course of the World Cup soccer tournament, Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton, left, Ashley Landis, and Pamela Smith)
EAST RUTHERFORD, Latest Jersey — After Lionel Messi scored two goals to set the World Cup record and Kylian Mbappé kept pace within the profession chase, Erling Haaland delivered one other dazzling performance on a showcase day for the tournament’s top stars.
Haaland scored twice for Norway in the primary quarter-hour of the second half of a 3-2 win over Senegal on Monday night, making up for clanking a shot off the post and getting denied on a header just before halftime. His performance got here hours after Messi scored two for Argentina and Mbappé did the identical for France.
Teammate Kristian Thorstvedt called Haaland a big-game player who lives for these moments. Roughly a month away from his twenty sixth birthday, Haaland is showing he can sustain with a few of football’s more experienced stars while playing on a team without the identical pedigree or championship history.
World Cup: Haaland scores 2 more, Norway through to next round
“He’s the very best striker,” coach Ståle Solbakken said through an interpreter. “He shouldn’t be playing for France or Argentina. He scores for Norway.”
The three have combined to attain 13 goals within the World Cup: five for Messi and 4 each for Mbappé and Haaland within the race for the Golden Boot, which Iraq coach Graham Arnold predicted can be a superb competition between them.
“It’s easier to win the Golden Boot whenever you play for France and Argentina,” Solbakken said. “But we’ll try to present Erling more games and more assist in the subsequent games.”
Messi became the World Cup’s profession scoring leader with 18 goals when he and Argentina beat Austria in Arlington, Texas. Mbappé is now at 16, tied with former record holder Miroslav Klose, after he and France beat Iraq 3-0 in Philadelphia.
Playing in his first World Cup, Haaland is at 4. Norway last qualified in 1998 — two years before he was born.
“Let’s be completely happy, each Norwegian on the planet,” Haaland said. “I’m a part of something special. Norway’s a part of something special. We’re making history.”
The 6-foot-5 Manchester City striker has now scored in 12 consecutive competitive matches for Norway. He has 24 goals over that stretch, and the last time Haaland didn’t rating for Norway in a game that mattered was Oct. 13, 2024.
“He’s on fire,” Solbakken said. “I’m very completely happy for him that he can rating on the most important stage.”
Haaland had the fewest touches of anyone on either team in the primary half, getting guarded tightly by an opponent that knew just how essential it was to contain him. Still, Solbakken identified that Haaland missed an open net and “could have scored even 4.”
READ: World Cup: Mbappe powers France past Iraq and into KO stage
“He’s probably the greatest strikers on this planet,” Senegal’s Ismail Jakobs said. “We used a part of the sport making some things very difficult to start out with (for him), as you might see.”
Then Haaland found his footing on a wet surface on the Meadowlands that had been deluged by rain.
He scored his first goal on a 4-on-2 rush, putting behind him the frustration from earlier. After getting his second by banking a right-footed shot off the crossbar and in, Haaland held his left hand as much as his left ear to encourage cheers of a giant contingent of red-clad fans who chanted, “Nor-ge! Nor-ge!” and performed their signature Viking rowing celebration within the stands.
Asked how he was doing it, Haaland struggled to give you an evidence.
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“I don’t know,” Haaland said. “It’s my specialty to attain goals. It’s like many other things: I’m just really good at scoring goals, and I’m quite lucky. I don’t know what I’m doing, but yeah. That’s just the way it is.”