FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Erling Haaland took just 29 minutes to score his first ever World Cup goal on his tournament debut against Iraq on Tuesday. By the end, he had scored twice in a convincing 4-1 victory and delivered on his tag as one of this tournament's biggest stars.
Haaland, 25, has been one of the world's most prolific strikers since he burst onto the scene in 2019, but he was made to wait until now to play at a World Cup, with Norway failing to qualify since 1998.
When asked if he was already the world's best goalscorer after the game, a humble Haaland said he was in the conversation.
"I would say I'm up there," Haaland said. "I don't think I scored the most goals this season, so statistically no. Harry Kane and [Kylian] Mbappé scored more goals than me and that's the reality."
And Haaland said he will do his best to meet the expectations he created with this performance as he looks to guide Norway into the knockout rounds.
"Of course I will try," Haaland said. "It's about continuing and don't think too much. It's difficult at this stage. But I'll focus on [the] next [game] and of course be happy. But also stay calm."
Speaking to ESPN ahead of the tournament, Haaland had said how something felt "missing" for most of his career, which has seen him win a slew of major titles for Manchester City.
"It felt missing in 2022 in Qatar and also in the Euros in 2024. So now it finally happened, and it was about time," he said.
On Tuesday, he quickly made up for lost time.
His first goal came immediately after the hydration break as he converted a low cross from David Møller Wolfe.
Iraq briefly levelled the scores with a well-taken Aymen Hussein header, but shortly after Haaland jumped on a mistake from Iraq goalkeeper Jalal Hassan, who looked to play the ball out from the back but could only watch as the Norway striker beat him to the ball and tapped past him into an empty net.
Kristian Thorstvedt scored the final goal just before the final whistle with Haaland getting credit for an assist.
The stellar debut for Haaland did not come as a surprise to Norway coach Stale Solbakken, who said he had a feeling the striker was ready after watching how loose he was in the team's last training session before the match.
"You could see that he lived up to the occasion," Solbakken said. "The occasion wasn't too big for him."
Haaland has already equalled the Norwegian record for most World Cup goals, previously belonging to midfielder Kjetil Rekdal. His goals on Tuesday were the 56th and 57th of his Norway career, padding his lead as the country's all-time leading scorer.
He will get at least two more chances to add to his tally in Norway's final two group games. They play Senegal in New Jersey on June 22 before returning to Foxborough to take on France on June 26.
Iraq, playing in the World Cup for just the second time after debuting in 1986, held its own with a sizeable contingent of supporters that was mostly concentrated behind one of the goals.
Information from The Associated Press was also used in this report.