Erling Haaland scored twice on his World Cup debut as Norway defeated Iraq 4-1 in their Group I opener at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, near Boston, on Tuesday. The result gives Norway — returning to the tournament for the first time in 28 years — three points and a place at the top of Group I on goal difference, level with France, who earlier beat Senegal 3-1.

Haaland, the Manchester City striker who had scored 16 goals in eight European qualifying matches, opened the scoring in the 29th minute, steering in a low cross from David Møller Wolfe at the far post after a sharp pass from the tricky Antonio Nusa. Iraq, making their first World Cup appearance since 1986, refused to be overawed. Aymen Hussein — the man whose goal against Bolivia in March secured Iraq's place as the 48th and final qualifier — rose above three Norwegian defenders to head in an equaliser from an Amir Al-Ammari cross. The joy lasted barely ten minutes. Haaland pounced on a hesitant clearance from goalkeeper Jalal Hassan, whose attempted kick cannoned off the striker's shin and into the net, making it 2-1 at half-time and taking Haaland's international tally to 57 goals in just 51 appearances. It was the first time Norway had ever led at half-time in a World Cup match.

The second half was less frenetic but no less decisive. Substitute defender Leo Ostigard glanced in a header from an Martin Ødegaard corner on 76 minutes to effectively end the contest, and deep in stoppage time a looping Haaland header deflected off the unfortunate Hussein and trickled over the line for a fourth. Iraq had their moments — Ibrahim Bayesh was denied by a desperate block, Ali Al-Hamadi wasted a dribble, and centre-back Akam Hashim lashed a spectacular volley just over — but the gulf in experience proved too wide.

Iraq's return to the World Cup carries enormous emotional weight. The country qualified through an arduous 21-match, 867-day campaign, eventually claiming the final spot with a 2-1 intercontinental play-off win over Bolivia in Monterrey, Mexico — the same country where Iraq made their one and only previous World Cup appearance in 1986, losing all three group games. The qualification celebrations that erupted across Baghdad and other Iraqi cities in April reflected decades of longing: football has remained one of the few spaces of collective joy during a period that encompassed wars, international sanctions, the 2003 invasion, and years of political and security upheaval.

Norway's own road back was smoother but still historic. The team last appeared at a World Cup in 1998 — a campaign remembered for a famous group-stage victory over Brazil — and had gone 56 years without winning a World Cup match before Tuesday's result. Coach Ståle Solbakken, himself a member of that 1998 squad, is building around a golden generation led by Haaland and Arsenal midfielder Ødegaard. For Iraq, a daunting second fixture awaits: a meeting with 2018 runners-up France in Philadelphia on 22 June. Norway face Senegal in New Jersey on the same date.