Norway beat Senegal to secure early qualification for the 2026 World Cup play-offs
The Norwegian national team beat Senegal in their second Group I match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The match at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, USA, ended 3–2.
The Norwegians opened the scoring late in the first half. Markus Pedersen scored the first goal.
Norway doubled their lead early in the second half. In the 48th minute, Erling Haaland scored following a pass from Martin Ødegaard.
Senegal pulled one back just five minutes later. In the 53rd minute, Ismaïla Sarr scored following an assist from Sadio Mané.
However, in the 58th minute, Erling Haaland completed his brace following a pass from Patrick Berg, once again extending the Norwegian side’s lead to two goals.
For the Manchester City striker, these were his third and fourth goals at the 2026 World Cup. In the opening round, Haaland also scored a brace in the match against Iraq.
Erling Haaland currently shares second place on the list of top scorers at this World Cup with Kylian Mbappé. Lionel Messi remains the leading scorer with five goals.
Towards the end of the match, in the 90+3rd minute, Ismaïla Sarr scored his second goal, but this was not enough to save Senegal from defeat.
In the first round of Group H, Norway thrashed Iraq 4–1, whilst Senegal lost 1–3 to France.
In the other Group I match of the second round, France beat Iraq 3–0.
After two rounds, Norway and France, both on 6 points, have secured their places in the knockout stages ahead of schedule. Senegal and Iraq remain without any points so far.
In the third round, Norway will face France, whilst Senegal will take on Iraq. Both matches will take place on 26 June at 22:00 Kyiv time.
The 2026 World Cup runs from 11 June to 19 July in the USA, Mexico and Canada. For the first time, 48 national teams are taking part in the tournament.
All teams are divided into 12 groups of four. The top two teams from each group, as well as the eight best third-placed teams, will advance to the round of 16.
