Norway’s excellent begin to World Cup qualifying continued on Thursday as they ran out 3-0 winners over Italy on the Ullevaal Stadion.
Three first-half objectives did the harm for the hosts, with Italy unable to make their mark of their first qualifier for the 2026 World Cup.
Norway began on the entrance foot, with Alexander Sorloth discovering the breakthrough after simply 14 minutes.
Alessandro Bastoni’s lengthy ball was minimize out, and Antonio Nusa drove ahead by midfield earlier than siding a move into Sorloth, who fired in from a decent angle from the left, the place Gianluigi Donnarumma couldn’t make the cease regardless of getting a contact on the ball.
Donnarumma denied Sorloth shortly after the half-hour mark, however simply moments later, Nusa discovered a method by. After chopping inside from the left, he despatched two Italy defenders crashing into one another earlier than bending in a beautiful strike.
Erling Haaland made it 3-0 simply earlier than the break. Performed by by Martin Odegaard, the Manchester Metropolis striker rounded Donnarumma earlier than slotting into an empty web.
Odegaard nearly turned supplier once more within the second half, selecting out Sander Berge, who smacked the left submit with a strong roller.
Italy’s solely shot on track got here in stoppage time, as substitute Lorenzo Lucca rose to move an effort on aim, however Orjan Nyland held onto it at his close to submit.
Norway stay prime of Group I with 9 factors, whereas Italy are fourth, although they’ve performed two video games fewer than their opponents.
Defeat in Oslo. #Azzurri #VivoAzzurro pic.twitter.com/Yg72rxBljr
— Italy (@Azzurri_En) June 6, 2025
Knowledge Debrief: World Cup qualifying woes go on for Italy
Italy have missed out on the final two World Cups, failing to qualify for each the 2018 and 2022 editions, one thing Luciano Spalletti is decided to place proper for 2026.
Nevertheless, they had been nicely off the tempo in opposition to a rampant Norway aspect in Oslo. Italy have now misplaced two World Cup qualifiers in a row for the primary time of their historical past.
It’s also the primary time they’ve failed to attain in three such consecutive video games – they created simply 0.21 anticipated objectives (xG) from their six pictures on Friday.
Norway, who gathered 1.63 xG, had been out of sight at half-time – it’s the first time Italy have conceded at the least three objectives within the first half of a World Cup qualifier of their historical past.
