JAKARTA - Striker Erling Haaland completed his mission to lead Norway to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. This was Norway's first time competing in the biggest football tournament since 1998 after defeating Italy 4-1 in their final Group I qualifying match at the San Siro Stadium, Milan, on Monday, November 17, 2025, early morning WIB. This result also forced Italy into a playoff.
The crushing defeat silenced Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso. Previously, Gattuso could only boast, criticizing the World Cup qualifying system, which forced Italy to work hard to advance due to their inferior goal difference to Norway.
Norway, with deadly striker Haaland, was truly rampant in the qualifying round. Not only did Stale Solbakken's team sweep all matches unbeaten, they also scored 37 goals, the highest among the other teams in the qualifiers.
This made it difficult for Italy to overcome such a large goal margin. However, the Azzurri were also completely helpless against the waves of attacks from Manchester City's mainstays. In the first meeting, Italy lost 3-0, leading to the dismissal of coach Luciano Spalletti.
Gattuso, who replaced Spalletti, suffered a similar fate. Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was unable to stop his Man City colleague and was forced to pick the ball up four times, two of which were scored by Haaland.
The resounding victory over Italy saw Norway secure top spot in the group with 28 points and secure qualification for the finals, which will be held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. This was historic, as it marked Norway's first World Cup appearance since 1998. At that time, Norway relied on Alf-Inge Haaland, Erling Haaland's father. Along with the Manchester United trio of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Ronny Johnsen, and Henning Berg, who won the treble the following year, Norway advanced to the round of 16. Interestingly, in that knockout round, Norway was narrowly eliminated by Italy, 1-0.
Now, Norway has responded by forcing Italy into a playoff. If they fail, Italy will miss the World Cup for the third consecutive year.
"I apologize to the fans because this 4-1 result is clearly a very heavy defeat. It's a real shame, especially because we played well in the first half. We played like a real team," said Gattuso, as quoted by UEFA's website.
"In the second half, we played very disappointingly. We should have played like we did in the first half, but instead we struggled. This hurts us, and we congratulate Norway," he said.
Italy, who needed nine or more goals to secure Norway's automatic qualification, played well in the first half. They displayed a compact, solid and courageous performance. Furthermore, Italy took the lead after just 11 minutes. Young Inter Milan striker Francisco Pio Esposito successfully scored against Norway after receiving an assist from Federico Dimarco.
Italy maintained their 1-0 lead until halftime.
However, the situation changed completely in the second half. Italy lost momentum, especially after Norway equalized through midfielder Antonio Nusa in the 63rd minute. Nusa successfully finished off a pass from Alexander Sarloth.
At a 1-1 draw, Norway seemed to have taken control of the game. In contrast, Italy played under pressure. Furthermore, the defensive trio of Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Gianluca Mancini, and Alessandro Bastoni seemed powerless against Haaland, who was operating alone up front. His partner, Oscar Bobb, was benched by Solbakken.
Nevertheless, the 25-year-old striker was able to tear apart the Italian defense and scored a brace in just one minute. He opened the scoring, giving Norway a 2-1 lead in the 78th minute. Then, in the 79th minute, Haaland solidified his team's lead to 3-1.
Substitute Jorgen Strand Larsen solidified Norway's victory. Coming on for Haaland in the 89th minute, Larsen was expected to play only as the match drew to a close. However, in injury time, or precisely in the 90+3 minute, he beat Donnarumma to make it 4-1. That score then concluded the final match of Group I.
"I feel like there's no better moment in my life than this match," replied Solbakken, who set a record by guiding Norway to the World Cup finals.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
