Norway opened their first World Cup in 28 years by beating Iraq in an Erling Haaland-inspired win.The Manchester City striker scored twice before half-time in Foxborough, near Boston. His first was the result of a flowing team move, while his second was down to his determination in chasing down a weak back pass from Zaid Tahseen and some dawdling by Iraq goalkeeper Jalal Hassen.Five of Norway’s starting XI weren’t even born the last time they competed on the world stage in 1998 – including Haaland and Martin Odegaard – and so some nerves were understandable.Iraq were surprisingly competitive until Norwegian substitute Leo Ostigard was allowed a free header to make it 3-1, with the opposition markers seemingly more preoccupied with the presence of Haaland at that corner. Norway added a fourth in stoppage time when Haaland’s header sneaked in, going down as an own goal by Aymen Hussein.Here is what Daily Mail Sport learned from watching Norway’s win over Iraq. Norway opened their first World Cup in 28 years by beating Iraq in an Erling Haaland-inspired winHAALAND SCORES – OF COURSE – BUT WATCH THE BUILD-UPNorway were selected as dark horses by a fair few before this World Cup – not least after winning all eight of their group games in qualifying – and showed why with their opening goal.Iraq had been holding their own when their centre back, Tahseen, inexplicably tried a volley from 25 yards. As you can imagine, it looped up and over and into the stand behind.What happened next showed the type of football that Norway want to bring to this tournament. They began passing from the back. Iraq were compactly flooding the centre, so there was no avenue to Odegaard. They looked to go down the left-hand side, and saw no way out. They recycled it to the right-hand side, and there, they found their exit towards the other end of the pitch.There were 15 passes in total between Norway’s goal-kick and the overlapping left back David Moller Wolfe setting up Haaland to make it 1-0. Of all the goals scored by Haaland in his career, this will have meant as much as any of them – a stretching finish 28 years in the making.Haaland added to his tally with the game at 1-1 by chasing down Tahseen’s trickling back pass as Iraq’s goalkeeper Hassen booted his clearance into Norway’s striker. I’d be scared of a 6ft 5in Viking chasing me down, too, in fairness. Norway were selected as dark horses by a fair few before this World Cup and showed why with their opening goalDEFENCE WILL BE NORWAY’S DOWNFALLFor all of Norway’s attacking firepower – with Haaland flanked by RB Leipzig’s Antonio Nusa and Atletico Madrid’s Alexander Sorloth here – their defence looks light on superiority and is where you suspect they will ultimately come undone on the world stage.Norway’s centre-back partners were Torbjorn Heggem of Bologna and Kristoffer Ajer of Brentford. When the cross came into their box after 39 minutes, however, nobody in Norwegian red took command. Iraq’s striker Hussein leaped higher than anybody to head home for 1-1 despite three opponents in Heggem, Moller Wolfe and Sander Berge all going for the same ball in a mix-up.Iraq created several chances here. Ibrahim Bayesh, Akam Hashim, Ali Al-Hamadi, they were all having a go. They just lacked the finishes to get something out of this game, but it told a tale of the vulnerable area to this Norwegian team, who will face Senegal then France next. Aymen Hussein celebrates scoring Iraq’s first goal to make it 1-1 on Tuesday eveningHUSSEIN’S GOAL MEANS MORE THAN YOU KNOWIt is worth explaining why Hussein scoring his headed equaliser was so poignant.When Iraq landed in Chicago last week, US immigration officers held the 30-year-old for seven hours before finally freeing him. Growing up, his father, a soldier in the Iraqi Army, was killed by Al Qaeda. Then his brother was kidnapped, reportedly by ISIS, and was never seen again.For all the tragedies that Hussein has had to endure in his life, it was his goal in their play-off versus Bolivia which got Iraq to this World Cup, their first in 40 years since 1986. And now, he has scored on the world stage, in what was a wonderful moment for him and his family.NUSA IS A NUISANCE – ANY TAKERS?The Norwegians have a squad stocked with technical attackers, all looking to supply Haaland. As well as 27-year-old captain Odegaard, there is RB Leipzig’s Nusa, Benfica’s Andreas Schjelderup, and Fulham’s Oscar Bobb – each of those 22 years old or younger. Manager Stale Solbakken opted for Nusa on the left of Haaland, and Sorloth, 30, on the right in his front three here.Nusa was their most exciting creator, that is for certain. He had the crowd on their feet with his close control of the ball impressive in real time, and even more so in slow-mo.We have seen footballers signed immediately after having an impressive World Cup, and this 21-year-old has already been linked with Liverpool. We are bound to hear more clubs mentioned if he continues to impress, though his second half was somewhat quieter than the first. Nusa was one of four removed in a quadruple substitution made by Solbakken after 73 minutes.As for Odegaard, he won the Premier League as Arsenal’s captain, yet his injury issues meant he did not play as much as he would have liked in such a memorable campaign. He will hope for a big tournament for his own satisfaction, and Norway will be looking to him to influence proceedings in their next group games against Senegal and France if they are to go further. RB Leipzig’s Antonio Nusa had the crowd on their feet with his close controlNORWAY ARE HERE TO STAYNorway’s return to the world stage is a nice story and no accident.There was frustration within Norwegian football as World Cups arrived and happened without their participation. In 2013, the Norwegian Football Federation created the National Team School, designed to find and develop the nation’s best youngsters. The ultimate aim is to create a pathway for these players to fulfil their potential, and NTS alumni include Messrs Odegaard, Haaland, Nusa, Strand Larsen and Schjelderup.Norway won all eight of their group games in qualifying, scoring 37 goals with 16 from Haaland and conceding only five. That included beating Italy twice, 3-0 and 4-1.Whatever happens at this World Cup, Norway are fairly open in saying they hope this is only the beginning of a new era in which their involvement in these international tournaments will become a regular occurrence rather than a rare one.Even towards the end of this victory, Haaland was hungry for more, insisting on his team-mates coming forward for a set-piece opportunity with only seconds remaining – and Norway scored their fourth from it.