Iraq believed in the upset, Haaland and Norway reeled them back in

Having clawed back to 1-1 in the hour of their revival, Iraq eventually buckled against a more clinical Norway. A brace from Erling Haaland tipped the evening, before Aymen Hussein, scorer and then unfortunate own-goal author, watched it turn into a nightmare. 4-1.

For the space of half an hour, there was the scent of an upset. Trailing, Iraq had drawn level and sown doubt in a Norway side that thought it was up and running. But in Foxborough, pragmatism settled it: carried by a brace fromErling Haaland and strikes from Leo Ostigård and then an unfortunate own goal, the side of Ståle Solbakken won 4-1 and got their tournament off to an ideal start. For Iraq, the opening fixture leaves a bitter taste, matched only by their regrets.

Haaland strikes, Hussein responds

Norway opened the scoring in the 29th^th minute, almost inevitably: sent in behind by David Wolfe, Erling Haaland controlled in the box before firing the ball into the top right corner, giving Jalal Hassan no chance whatsoever. But Iraq did not bow their heads. Ten minutes later, from a deft, pinpoint chipped ball byAmir Al Ammari, Aymen Hussein got ahead of everyone to power a header into the bottom right corner. 1-1, and a stadium starting to dream.

The blunder that turned everything around

The dream lasted four minutes. In the 43rd^rd, with the break approaching on level terms, goalkeeper Jalal Hassan completely miskicked his clearance, sending the ball straight to the feet of Erling Haaland, who only had to tap it home. 1-2 just before the break: a terrible blow to Iraqi morale, the side trooping back to the dressing room heads down after having existed so well in the game.

Norway pulls clear

In the second half, Norway managed their lead before extending it. In the 76th^th, from a corner, Leo Ostigård burst in at the near post to plant a powerful header under the bar: 1-3, and the upset drifting away for good. To his credit, Jalal Hassan made amends for his blunder by pushing away another Haaland attempt (83rd^rd), denying the striker a hat-trick. But in the dying breath of the match, Aymen Hussein's unfortunate own goal gave the scoreline a margin that the run of play did not quite dictate.

Iraqi regrets, a Norway up and running

The final figure is harsh on an Iraq side that went toe to toe for nearly an hour and carved out a few situations, especially late in the first half. But they paid cash for two individual errors — two handling mistakes directly at the root of goals — where Norway, clinical, converted most of their spells on top. The Lions of Mesopotamia will have to turn the page quickly; Norway, for their part, leave with three points and the calm of teams that do not waste their chances.