Erling Haaland is on his way to one of the most special World Cup debuts we have ever seen.

The Norwegian star added his name to an elite list with a couple of goals during his team's win over Senegal on Monday night, helping Norway advance to the knockout round for the first time since 1998, in its last time when the team qualified for the international tournament.

With his two tallies against the Senegalese, Haaland joined big names such as England's Harry Kane (2018) as one of six players to score multiple goals in each of his first two FIFA World Cup appearances. Per OptaJoe, the other names on the list include Poland's Grzegorz Lato (1974), France's Just Fontaine (1958), Hungary's Sandor Kocsis (1954) and Argentina's Guillermo Stabile (1930). Haaland is now amid a streak which includes goals in his last 12 competitive appearances in international competition.

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What we are witnessing is the birth of a player who is sure to become one of the greatest of all time. Haaland is just 25 years old and should have a number of good years still in front of him. Argentina legend Lionel Messi turns 39 on June 24 and he just broke the all-time World Cup goals record with his 17th and 18th tallies during a 2-0 win over Austria on Monday.

If Haaland continues his pace, he should have a chance to place his name alongside some of the other greats in the record books down the line. Close behind Messi in the goal-scoring ranks is French star Kylian Mbappe, who netted the 15th and 16th goals of his career during a 3-0 win over Iraq earlier on Monday. Mbappe and Haaland have each scored four goals through their respective teams' first two games of the ongoing World Cup.

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A showdown of epic proportion is coming up on Friday, when Haaland and Mbappe will take the field against one another, with a win earning the victor the top spot in Group I. Both France and Norway are already on to the Round of 32 as both teams have earned six points apiece with one game remaining in the group stage.

The high-profile matchup is scheduled for 3 p.m. in Boston.

Source: Newsweek