Norway vs Senegal 3:2 — A Haaland Brace and Five Goals in 47 Minutes

Norway and Senegal traded five goals in a forty-seven-minute stretch either side of halftime, with Erling Haaland's brace proving decisive in a 3-2 win built on a productive spell that neither defense could contain.

Markus Pedersen broke the deadlock in the 43rd minute, and Haaland doubled the lead three minutes into the second half. Ismaila Sarr pulled one back for Senegal in the 53rd, only for Haaland to restore Norway's two-goal cushion five minutes later. Sarr's second goal, arriving in the 90th minute, made the final score closer than the match's balance of play for most of the second half suggested.

Senegal Out-Shot Norway Sixteen To Thirteen Despite Losing

Senegal's higher shot count and 58 percent possession didn't translate into the better underlying numbers — Norway's 2.20 xG against Senegal's 1.72 shows the hosts were creating the sharper chances even while facing more total attempts and less of the ball across the ninety minutes.

Haaland's Brace Came In A Five-Minute Window

His goals in the 48th and 58th minutes bookend Senegal's own response from Sarr, a stretch that shows both attacks finding their rhythm simultaneously rather than one side dominating a settled, low-event match.

Thirteen Fouls For Norway Against Five For Senegal

The foul count leaned heavily toward the hosts, a detail that stands out against a match otherwise defined by open, attacking football rather than physical containment — Norway's fouling came more from a team pressing hard to protect a lead than from any sustained physical battle.

A Substitution In The 13th Minute Set Up Norway's First Goal

Markus Pedersen entered as an early injury substitute for Jonas Ryerson in just the 13th minute and went on to score the opener thirty minutes later — a change forced by circumstance that ended up reshaping the entire match in Norway's favor.

Senegal's Halftime And Hour-Mark Changes Chased The Game

Senegal made two substitutions at the 54th minute and two more at the 63rd, searching for a way to close the gap Haaland's goals had opened. The changes helped generate Sarr's stoppage-time consolation but arrived too late to prevent Norway's win.

For Senegal, out-shooting the opponent and holding the greater share of possession while still losing is a reminder that chance quality, not just chance quantity, decided this match. For Norway, a two-goal cushion built in a five-minute burst either side of halftime proved just enough to survive a Senegalese fightback that came agonizingly close in stoppage time.

Eleven Box Shots For Norway Against Ten For Senegal

Despite trailing in total shots, Norway matched Senegal almost exactly on attempts from inside the penalty area — a detail that helps explain the xG gap in the hosts' favor even while conceding more shots and less of the ball across the full match.

Five Corners To Four Kept The Set-Piece Column Close

Unlike the wider gaps in possession and total shots, corners stayed nearly even between the two sides, a reminder that Senegal's territorial edge showed up more in sustained pressure than in the kind of clear-cut final-third chances that usually produce set pieces. Norway's two goalkeeper saves against Senegal's three reflect a match where both defenses were tested repeatedly, right up until the stoppage-time goal that made the final margin closer than the run of play for most of the second half. That late strike didn't change the result, but it did leave Norway's defense scrambling in the final seconds of a match that had looked comfortably won just moments earlier.