Norway Moves Closer to World Cup Qualification, While Croatia Shines in Opening Qualifiers
Haaland during the match against Italy, Photo: Reuters
Last night in Oslo, Norway’s national football team triumphed over Italy with a score of 3-0 in the third round of Group I qualifying for the World Cup.
NORWAY clinched its third victory in these qualifiers, with Alexander Serlot scoring in the 14th minute, Antonio Nusa netting one in the 34th, and Erling Haaland adding another in the 42nd.
For Italy, who have not qualified for the last two World Cups, this marked their first match in the qualifying cycle due to obligations in the Nations League.
The Scandinavian side currently leads Group I with a perfect nine points, while Italy finds itself in fourth place without any points.
In a concurrent match within the group, Israel scored a 3:1 victory over Estonia in Tallinn.
The home team initially took the lead with a goal from Matthias Kajt in the 31st minute, but Israel responded with goals from Dan Biton in the 39th and 49th minutes, with Mohamed Abu Fani sealing the score from a penalty in the 90th minute.
Israel sits in second place with six points, while Estonia is in third with three points.
Croatia achieved a commanding 7-0 win against Gibraltar in Group L, playing away in Faro, Portugal.
The bronze medal-winning squad from the last World Cup saw goals from Mario Pašalić (28′), Ante Budimir (30′), Franjo Ivanović (60′, 63′), Ivan Perišić (73′), and Andrej Kramarić (77′, 80′).
In Group L, the Czech Republic is at the top with nine points, followed by Montenegro with six points, with Croatia in third place (one match played) securing three points. The Faroe Islands (two matches) and Gibraltar have yet to score.
In another Group J encounter, North Macedonia and Belgium played to a 1-1 draw in Skopje.
Belgium took the lead through Maxime de Kuyper in the 29th minute, but Ezdzhan Alioski equalized for the home team in the 86th minute.
Additionally, Wales emerged victorious against Liechtenstein, winning 3-0 in Cardiff.
Goals for Wales came from Joe Rodon (40′), Harry Wilson (66′), and Kiefer Moore (69′).
Wales currently tops Group J with seven points, followed by North Macedonia with five points. Kazakhstan holds third with three points (two matches), Belgium is fourth with one point from one match, and Liechtenstein is at the bottom with no points.
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