Norway’s Erling Haaland (right) scores a goal against Moldova
Washington ∙ Erling Haaland and his team moved one step closer to the 2026 World Cup finals. Norway celebrated their first win of the qualifying round with a 5-0 win over Moldova. Julian Ryerson (5th minute), Haaland (23), Thilo Asgard (38), Alexander Schorloth (43) and Aaron Donn (69) scored for Norway. With this, Haaland’s goal tally for Norway has reached 39 in 40 matches.
Norway, which is playing qualifiers under the captaincy of Haaland, including superstars including Arsenal midfielder Martin Odegaard, is expected to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. Norway last played in the World Cup in 1998, two years before Holland was born. Israel beat Estonia 2–1 in their second Group I match. Wales beat Kazakhstan 3–1 and North Macedonia beat Liechtenstein 3–0 in Group J. The Czech Republic beat the Faroe Islands 2–1 and Montenegro beat Gibraltar 3–1 in Group L.
16 teams from Europe will qualify for the 48-team World Cup. The 12 group winners and four second-place play-off winners will also qualify for the World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
