Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland dazzle on same day at the World Cup

Teammate Kristian Thorstvedt called Haaland a big-game player who lives for these moments. Roughly a month away from his 26th birthday, Haaland is showing he can keep up with some of soccer's more experienced stars while playing on a team without the same pedigree or championship history.

“He is the best striker,” coach Ståle Solbakken said through an interpreter. “He is not playing for France or Argentina. He scores for Norway.”

The three have combined to score 13 goals in the World Cup: five for Messi and four each for Mbappé and Haaland in the race for the Golden Boot, which Iraq coach Graham Arnold predicted will be a very good competition between them.

“It’s easier to win the Golden Boot when you play for France and Argentina,” Solbakken said. “But we’ll try to give Erling more games and more help in the next games.”

Messi became the World Cup’s career scoring leader with 18 goals when he and Argentina beat Austria in Arlington, Texas. Mbappé is now at 16, tied with former record holder Miroslav Klose, after he and France beat Iraq 3-0 in Philadelphia.

Playing in his first World Cup, Haaland is at four. Norway last qualified in 1998 — two years before he was born.

“Let’s be happy, every single Norwegian on the planet,” Haaland said. “I’m part of something special. Norway’s part of something special. We’re making history.”

The 6-foot-5 Manchester City striker has now scored in 12 consecutive competitive matches for Norway. He has 24 goals over that stretch, and the last time Haaland did not score for Norway in a game that mattered was Oct. 13, 2024.

“He’s on fire,” Solbakken said. “I’m very happy for him that he can score on the biggest stage.”

Haaland had the fewest touches of anyone on either team in the first half, getting guarded tightly by an opponent that knew just how important it was to contain him. Still, Solbakken pointed out that Haaland missed an open net and “could have scored even four.”

“He’s one of the best strikers in the world,” Senegal's Ismail Jakobs said. “We used part of the game making some things very difficult to start with (for him), as you could see.”

Then Haaland found his footing on a wet surface at the Meadowlands that had been deluged by rain.

He scored his first goal on a 4-on-2 rush, putting behind him the frustration from earlier. After getting his second by banking a right-footed shot off the crossbar and in, Haaland held his left hand up to his left ear to encourage cheers of a large contingent of red-clad fans who chanted, “Nor-ge! Nor-ge!” and performed their signature Viking rowing celebration in the stands.

Asked how he was doing it, Haaland struggled to come up with an explanation.

“I don't know,” Haaland said. “It’s my specialty to score goals. It’s like many other things: I’m just really good at scoring goals, and I’m quite lucky. I don’t know what I’m doing, but yeah. That’s just how it is.”

AP Soccer Writer James Robson in Atlanta and AP Sports Writer Dan Gelston in Philadelphia contributed to this report.

AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/FIFA-World-Cup