Norway went to Milan to impose authority and effectiveness to beat Italy 4-1, and thus confirm their qualification for the final phase of the 2026 World Cup.
At San Siro, the Italians were forced to win by nine or more goals to finish Group I in 1st place and qualify directly for the USA, Canada and Mexico.
The first of these nine goals was scored early, in the 11th minute, by Espósito, assisted by Di Marco, but the miracle would die right there.
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The Nordic giant woke up in the second half, and guided by its star Erling Haaland, it turned around to end the qualification with only victories. First it was Antonio Nusa who tied the match, in the 63rd minute, with a left-footed shot after a ball won by Sorloth.
Then the ‘robot’ Haaland appeared, making it 2-1 in the 76th minute, with a small deflection in the small area, following a pass from Oscar Bobb, launched in the second half.
Haaland’s double came in the 79th minute, with a shot with the outside of his left foot, on a counterattack. The pass comes from Thorsby, who came on in the second half.
In stoppage time, Jorgen Strand Larsen made it 4-1 for Norway, on a nightmare night for Italy, especially in the 2nd half where there was no such thing.
Benfica player Andreas Schjelderup did not leave the Nordic bench.
Norway won all eight games and finished with 24 points, Italy finished 2nd with 18 and went to the play-offs. Israel finishes 3rd after beating Moldova 4-1.
This is only the fourth time that Norway has been present in the final phase of a World Cup, after having been in 1938, 1994 and 1998, an edition in which they reached the round of 16 (eliminated by Italy).
