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Fifa World Cup 2026
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Haaland double fires Norway into last 32, Mbappe can beat Messi record, coach says

Erling Haaland scores twice in 3-2 win over Senegal; France boss Didier Deschamps backs Kylian Mbappe to overhaul Lionel Messi’s goal tally

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Erling Haaland scored twice in his side’s 3-2 win over Senegal. Photo: AP
SCMP Sport

Erling Haaland scored twice, Marcus Holmgren Pedersen bagged another, and Norway beat Senegal 3-2 in New Jersey to reach the last 32 of this year’s World Cup.

Ismaila Sarr scored his second of the game to set up a grandstand finish, but Norway held on at MetLife Stadium to move level on points with France at the top of Group I.

Senegal may yet join them in the knockout stages if they can score enough against Iraq, the group’s whipping boys, to be one of the best third-placed teams.

Haaland, meanwhile, has now scored four times in his first two World Cup matches. He is just the sixth player to score multiple times in that time frame and only the second in the past 50 years.

The other player to manage the feat was England’s Harry Kane during the 2018 tournament in Russia.

France’s Kylian Mbappe scores his side’s second against Iraq. Photo: AP
France’s Kylian Mbappe scores his side’s second against Iraq. Photo: AP

It was a day for magic in front of goal, with Lionel Messi scoring twice in his side’s 2-0 over Austria, and Kylian Mbappe getting a brace of his own in France’s 3-0 win over Iraq.

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