Erling Haaland found the back of the net as Norway triumphed over Italy with a 3-0 victory, marking their first win against them in 25 years, securing their place in the 2026 World Cup on Friday.
Haaland received a perfectly timed pass from playmaker Martin Ødegaard and skillfully rounded goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to score the third goal just three minutes before halftime.
This goal marked his 41st strike in just 42 appearances for Norway, delighting the fans at Norway’s Wolvar Stadium, and occurring in front of Norway’s King Harald V.
Previously, Haaland contributed to Norway’s wins against Moldova (5-0) and Israel (4-2). Norway maintained their flawless qualifying record with three consecutive victories in European Group I.
Striker Alexander Sørloth capitalized on a precise pass from 20-year-old midfielder Antonio Nusa to beat Donnarumma with a left-footed shot. Nusa was a continual menace to the Italian defense, leaving two defenders behind before doubling the lead with a powerful shot from inside the box.
Italy was missing several key players for their initial qualifying matches, and others did not perform up to expectations, including Serie A’s top scorer Mateo Letegui.
Injuries sidelined defenders Alessandro Buongiorno and Mattia Gabia, defensive midfielder Manuel Rocatelli, and forward Moise Kean, while key center-back Francesco Aservi was set to mark Haaland but declined the call-up.
Diego Coppola took the center position in the three-man defense employed by coach Luciano Spalletti, who struggled to contain Norway’s offense.
Norway dominates while Italy struggles
In other Group I matches, Israel recorded their second victory by defeating Estonia 3-1, securing second place.
The Azzurri have been under immense pressure since the beginning of qualifying, having failed to qualify for the last two World Cups.
Winning the group is essential for direct qualification for next year’s tournament in North America, while the second-placed team will enter the playoffs—Italy having previously been eliminated by Sweden and North Macedonia in the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, respectively.
The four-time World Cup champions last qualified in 1958, marking the only time they have missed out.
Italy is set to face Moldova on Monday, while Norway travels to Estonia.
Croatia cruises past Gibraltar
Croatia kicked off their qualifying campaign with a resounding 7-0 win against Gibraltar.
Mario Pašalić and Ante Budimir both scored twice within two minutes to break the deadlock after 30 minutes, followed by Andrej Kramarić and Franjo Ivanović adding two more each in the second half, with Ivan Perišić providing support.
Croatia finished as runners-up in the 2018 World Cup and took third place in 2022.
In the same Group L, Adam Hložek and Patrik Schick both netted goals as the unbeaten Czech Republic defeated Montenegro 2-0, marking their third straight victory.
Belgium achieved a narrow 1-0 win thanks to defender Maxim De Cuiper’s goal, but North Macedonia shocked the group with a draw against them.
Wales now lead the group with seven points from three matches after their convincing 3-0 win over Liechtenstein, leaving North Macedonia two points behind.
Europe contributes a third of all teams
There are 16 spots available for European teams in the expanded 48-team World Cup format.
These will be filled by the winners of 12 qualifying groups, four from playoff matches among the 12 group runners-up, and four best-ranked group winners from international leagues that did not secure first or second places in qualifying.
The group stages of the European qualifiers are set to continue until November.
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Source: apnews.com