FOXBOROUGH: Norway manager Stale Solbakken said his players can now enjoy a well-deserved rest after beginning their long-awaited World Cup campaign with a 4-1 win over Iraq on Tuesday in Foxborough, where Erling Haaland netted twice.
The Norwegians waited 28 years to return to football’s biggest tournament but there was little sign of stage fright, and with their next Group ‘I’ game not until June 22, Solbakken wants his players to use their time wisely.
“I think it will be good for them to not see me the next two days,” Solbakken told reporters. “A lot of people, a lot of players will have visits from their families. They can, of course, train if they want to, but if they prefer to play a round of golf, they can do that.
“It’s really good to have a break now. It has been really intense and I think that everybody could feel that this was a big occasion and this is a tough tournament, and to be able to relax your brain and your body and to see your family, I think is a really good thing for them.”
Haaland came into the tournament with plenty of responsibility and expectation on his shoulders, but he more than dealt with the pressure on his World Cup debut.
“He liked the occasion, he lived up to the occasion. The occasion wasn’t too big for him,” Solbakken said.
“I had a good feeling. Before the game, the two last training sessions with him have been very, very good, so I had a quite comfortable feeling that he would do it for us today.”
Next for Norway is a meeting with Senegal, who lost 3-1 to France. Solbakken expects a tougher challenge in the two remaining group games, and is not listening to those who say that with three points they could probably get out of the group stage.
“There will be two teams that we will meet that are probably more at our level,” he said. “I looked at their match, and Senegal, they looked really solid during large periods of the first half. So that is what we want to concentrate on.”
After a cautious start, Haaland, who scored 16 times in eight qualifying games, double the tally of anyone else in Europe, opened his World Cup goal account in the 29th minute. Aymen Hussein briefly levelled for Iraq, Haaland put his side back in front before halftime.
Leo Ostigard added a third in the 76th minute and Hussein’s late own goal completed the scoring.
“It was not easy to be a debutant, you’re nervous, and to win on a not-so-good day is great,” Haaland told reporters. “To win 4-1 on an average day is absolutely huge for all of us. It’s fantastic and I’m proud of all of us.”
Meanwhile, Iraq coach Graham Arnold urged his players not to lose heart and reminded them they have two more chances to get a victory that could put them through to the knockout rounds.
“We put good pressure on Norway,” he said. “But a couple of mistakes against players at this level will always punish you. So we need to learn lessons from our mistakes.”
The Australian said Norway’s second goal, which came from a weak back pass to Iraq goalkeeper Jalal Hassan, was a turning point.
“It really probably hurt the players mentally,” said Arnold. “I tried to pick them up and say it’s the past, and we’ve got to get over it.”
“We’re in a group phase, there’s nine points available,” he said. “We’ve got to take all the positives out of today and get ourselves ready for the next game.
“There is still the opportunity for third spot. Three points should be enough to get you through.”
Published in Dawn, June 18th, 2026