Norway completed a dramatic 3-2 win over Senegal in a FIFA World Cup 2026 group match, with Erling Haaland scoring twice in the second half to send the Norwegians into the Round of 32 despite a nervy finish forced by a stoppage-time strike from Ismaïla Sarr.
Haaland strikes early in the second half
The second half had barely settled when Ismaïla Sarr won a free kick for Senegal on the right wing in the 45:13 minute, awarded after Norway's David Møller Wolfe was penalised for a foul. Norway responded in emphatic fashion. In the 47:30 minute, Erling Haaland struck from the centre of the box, curling a left-footed effort into the top right corner to make it 2-0 for Norway, the goal arriving at the end of a fast counter-attack finished off with an assist from Martin Ødegaard.
Two minutes later, in the 49:04 minute, Sadio Mané was flagged offside as Senegal searched for a way back into the game. Senegal did create an opening in the 51:08 minute when Nicolas Jackson rose to meet a Krépin Diatta cross with a header from the centre of the box, but Norway goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland kept it out with a save down the middle of goal.
Sarr replies before Haaland restores Norway's cushion
Senegal pulled one back in the 52:41 minute, Ismaïla Sarr driving a right-footed shot from the centre of the box into the top right corner, with Sadio Mané supplying the assist to make it 2-1. Senegal responded quickly with changes, sending on Ismail Jakobs for El Hadji Malick Diouf in the 53:43 minute and Ibrahim Mbaye for Pape Gueye four minutes later, in the 53:47 minute. The changes nearly paid off in the 55:28 minute when Lamine Camara, set up by Ibrahim Mbaye, fired a right-footed effort from outside the box that flew well over the crossbar.
But Norway restored their two-goal cushion in the 57:09 minute. Erling Haaland completed his double, shooting with his right foot from the centre of the box into the top centre of the goal off an assist from Patrick Berg, making it 3-1. Norway almost had a fourth moments earlier, in the 57:04 minute, when Antonio Nusa's right-footed effort from the centre of the box, set up by Haaland himself, was blocked.
Injuries and stoppages disrupt the rhythm
The match was held up in the 58:15 minute when Senegal goalkeeper Édouard Mendy went down injured, and by the 62:20 minute mark Mory Diaw had been sent on in his place. Play resumed at 62:14 once Mendy's treatment was complete. Senegal made a third change soon after, in the 62:46 minute, introducing Pathé Ciss for Lamine Camara. Sadio Mané then conceded a free kick for handball in the 63:49 minute, before Torbjørn Heggem conceded a corner for Norway in the 64:58 minute. A drinks break interrupted play again in the 67:46 minute before action resumed at 70:58.
Norway used the break to make a change of their own, sending on Andreas Schjelderup for Antonio Nusa in the 70:52 minute, while Senegal brought on Pape Matar Sarr for Kalidou Koulibaly in the 71:28 minute.
End-to-end chances as both sides push on
Senegal continued to probe. In the 73:44 minute, Ismaïla Sarr's right-footed shot from the centre of the box, teed up by a cross from Ibrahim Mbaye, was blocked. Moussa Niakhaté won a free kick in the defensive half in the 75:33 minute after Erling Haaland was penalised for a foul, and Pape Matar Sarr conceded one of his own in the 78:25 minute that handed Martin Ødegaard a free kick for Norway in the attacking half. Pape Matar Sarr then fired well over the bar from outside the box with a right-footed effort in the 80:19 minute.
Nicolas Jackson was flagged offside in the 82:23 minute, and moments earlier, in the 82:22 minute, Ismaïla Sarr's left-footed shot from the centre of the box, assisted by a Sadio Mané cross, was blocked. Norway made two changes in quick succession, Oscar Bobb replacing Alexander Sørloth in the 83:25 minute and an injured Torbjørn Heggem making way for Leo Østigård five minutes later, in the 83:30 minute. Marcus Pedersen won a free kick for Norway in the 84:05 minute after Sadio Mané fouled him, and Ibrahim Mbaye earned one for Senegal in the 85:26 minute following a foul by Patrick Berg.
Haaland almost had a hat-trick in the 87:25 minute, but his left-footed shot from the centre of the box, set up by an Andreas Schjelderup through ball, was blocked. David Møller Wolfe then conceded a free kick to Idrissa Gueye in the 87:36 minute. Oscar Bobb's left-footed effort from the centre of the box was blocked in the 89:03 minute, and a corner was awarded to Norway in the 89:05 minute, conceded by Pathé Ciss. Sander Berge was penalised for a foul in the 90:05 minute, which gave Senegal's Mory Diaw a free kick in defence. The fourth official signalled nine minutes of stoppage time at 89:59.
Sarr's stoppage-time strike sets up a nervy finish
Pape Matar Sarr's right-footed effort from outside the box was blocked in the 91:49 minute, but Senegal got the goal they were chasing in the 92:15 minute. Ismaïla Sarr completed his second of the match, sliding a right-footed finish from the centre of the box into the top right corner off an assist from Nicolas Jackson, to make it Norway 3-2 Senegal and set up a grandstand finish.
Moussa Niakhaté won another free kick for Senegal in the 93:30 minute after Erling Haaland fouled him, and a mistake by Marcus Pedersen gifted Senegal a corner in the 95:04 minute. Leo Østigård won a free kick for Norway in the 96:11 minute after a Pathé Ciss foul, and play was held up again in the 96:34 minute when Østigård went down injured, before resuming at 96:56. Ismaïla Sarr won a free kick for Senegal in the 97:26 minute following a Patrick Berg foul, and another Marcus Pedersen error handed Senegal a second corner in the 98:32 minute. Ibrahim Mbaye's right-footed shot from the left side of the box, assisted by Sadio Mané, was blocked in the 98:07 minute, and Sarr came agonisingly close to a hat-trick in the 98:57 minute when his close-range header, created from an Ismail Jakobs cross at a corner, drifted just over the bar.
Norway hold on to seal Round of 32 spot
The final whistle sounded in the 100:03 minute with Norway holding on for a 3-2 win over Senegal. Haaland's double either side of Sarr's first strike proved decisive, even as Senegal's late fightback, capped by Sarr's second goal, gave Norway some anxious final moments. The result takes Norway into the Round of 32 of the FIFA World Cup 2026.
