Erling Haaland joked that the Norwegians must be realistic about their World Cup ambitions but are having fun nonetheless. Haaland scored twice as Norway beat Senegal 3-2 at New York Stadium to advance to the knockout stages. In the three previous editions of the World Cup, Norway advanced to the next round only once, reaching the round of 16 in 1998, which was the last year it qualified for the tournament. And although Haaland is happy with the great form of the Norwegians, who have won the last 12 competitive matches, he has no intention of falling into euphoria.
"To qualify for the first time in 28 years and get through the group, I would say yes. But to win the World Championship, absolutely not," Haaland said in an interview on Fox. "We are currently winning 12 competitive games in a row. I am part of something special, we are writing history and I am extremely proud to be Norwegian."
Haaland is the sixth player in World Cup history to score multiple goals in his first two appearances at the tournament, and only the second in the last 50 years, after England's Harry Kane in 2018. The Manchester City forward is aiming to become only the third player to score two or more goals in his first three World Cup appearances, after Argentina's Guillermo Stábile in 1930 and Hungary's Sandor Kocsis in 1954.
However, in the next match Norway will face France, which according to the Opta supercomputer is the second favorite to win the title, and Haaland was pragmatic about his team's chances against the Tricolors.
“I don't really care about it [playing against France] right now,” he said. "We came through, we managed to advance, which is amazing, so I'm not worried about this match anymore. We'll probably lose to them and they'll probably win the whole tournament."
Norway advanced to the round of 16, but how painful was Senegal's stoppage-time goal in the group match? Before this goal, Senegal had a 0.5% chance of advancing from the group and Norway had a 100% chance. After the goal, Senegal's chance increased to 62%, while Norway's chance of finishing first in the group dropped from 90% to 76%.
Haaland has scored in 12 consecutive official international matches, including scoring at least two goals in his last six. He is the first Norwegian to score goals in two consecutive World Cup appearances.
“I think that's my specialty, scoring goals,” added the 25-year-old. "Like a lot of things, I'm just very good at scoring goals and I'm very lucky. I don't know what I'm doing. It's just the way it is."
Senegal, on the other hand, lost both group matches and will have to win in their last match against Iraq to have a chance of advancing.
"A tough match against a team that caused us problems; they were very effective and scored us two goals at the worst possible moments," said Senegal coach Pape Thiaw. "We have to focus on this last match and give everything to get the three points and still have hope. It's difficult, but we are still alive."
Opta's prediction model gives Senegal a 65.5% chance of advancing to the round of 16.
---
## Related Articles
1. [World Cup2026](https://bialoczerwoni.live/pl/news/haaland-z-dwiema-bramkami-powiedz-norwegie-do-awansu-algeria-ratuje-sie-i-tez-zyje)
2. [World Cup 2026](https://banthangvn.com/vi/news/world-cup-2026-fifa-tuoc-quyen-tac-nghiep-cua-binh-luan-vien-sau-phat-ngon-gay-tranh-cai)
