Erling Haaland is making headlines with a remarkable World Cup debut. The Norwegian forward contributed two goals to his team’s victory against Senegal on Monday night, securing Norway’s place in the knockout round—their first since 1998.
Haaland’s performance joins him with elite players who have scored multiple goals in each of their first two FIFA World Cup appearances. According to OptaJoe, this list includes England’s Harry Kane (2018), Poland’s Grzegorz Lato (1974), France’s Just Fontaine (1958), Hungary’s Sandor Kocsis (1954), and Argentina’s Guillermo Stabile (1930).
Haaland has now scored in his last 12 consecutive competitive matches in international competitions.
Haaland, at 25, stands poised to become one of the greatest football players of all time. As Lionel Messi breaks the all-time World Cup goals record with 18 goals at age 39, Haaland is on track to etch his name in the records. French player Kylian Mbappe is close behind Messi, having scored his 15th and 16th World Cup goals during a match against Iraq on Monday.
Mbappe and Haaland have each netted four goals in their teams’ opening two games at this World Cup. A Friday match between these two football stars will determine the winner of Group I, as both Norway and France advanced to the Round of 32 with six points each.
The much-anticipated matchup will take place at 3 p.m. in Boston. The game promises to be an extraordinary display of skill and competition.
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