Norway against Italy: Who makes the leap to the 2026 World Cup?

Norway against Italy: Who makes the leap to the 2026 World Cup?

Oslo, Norwegen - On June 6, 2025, the World Cup qualification games for the 2026 World Cup are on the program. The Norwegian national team today receives the Italian selection in Oslo, while Italy is under pressure after two missed world championships. Norway was able to win his first two games in this qualification with an impressive 5: 0 against the Republic of Moldova and a 4: 2 victory over Israel. Team boss Luciano Spalletti emphasizes the high pressure on his players, who today have to fight against a strong Norwegian team for the first points in qualification.

Norway is aiming for the first World Cup participation since 1998 and is led by star players such as Erling Haaland and Martin Ødegaard. But Italy has to fight with the failures of Francesco Acerbi and Moise Kean, the latter due to a thigh injury. Kean scored 19 goals in the past series A season and was an important part of the team. Mateo Retegui could go into the starting eleven on the position of Kean. Nevertheless, the game in Oslo is also observed by national coach Julian Nagelsmann, as it has a significant impact on the FIFA world rankings, which is crucial for the group draw for the 2026 World Cup.

ranking and meaning for Germany

Julian Nagelsmann has a clear goal in mind: Germany needs a place below the best nine in the FIFA world rankings to get the group draw in Lost pot 1. This would enable the team to avoid stronger opponents such as Argentina, Spain or Brazil. The current status shows that Italy is currently in ninth place in the world rankings, while Germany ranks behind it. A victory of Norway against Italy could provide the German team to protect.

Italy will compete against Moldova in three days. It is crucial for the Azzurri to be successful in this qualification phase in order not to lose connection to international competitions. The World Cup qualification itself will be held from 2023 to 2026, with a total of 210 FIFA members who participate-with the exception of Russia, which was excluded, and Eritrea, which has withdrawn without a single game.

Structure of the World Cup qualification 2026

The structure of the qualification stipulates that the UEFA awards 16 starting places for 54 participants. In the first round, the teams get on in places 27 to 46, while the teams in places 1 to 26 play in the second round. The qualification groups were drawn on December 13, 2024 in Zurich. In addition, the results of the UEFA Nations League 2024/25 flow into qualification, which is of great importance from the perspective of the European teams. For the World Cup, the best two teams from each group qualify directly, while the group runners and the four best group winners of the Nations League will compete in a play-off for the remaining places.

Overall, the World Cup qualification will represent an exciting phase for the European teams in which teams such as Norway and Italy are fighting for a place in the World Cup while Germany hopes to receive critical shooting aid.

Krone reports that the games could be crucial for the teams today. As Sport1 , the result between Norway and Italy will not only be important for the two teams, but also have far-reaching consequences for the German national team. Further information on the entire qualification can be read on Wikipedia