Norway surprises Italy with a 3-0 win in the World Cup qualification!

Norway surprises Italy with a 3-0 win in the World Cup qualification!

Italy's national soccer team was under great pressure after a severe defeat in the 2026 World Cup qualification. On June 6, 2025, the Squadra Azzurra lost 0: 3 against Norway. Alexander Sörloth (14th minute), Antonio Nusa (34th minute) and Erling Haaland (42nd minute) scored the goals for the Norwegians. With this victory, Norway in Group I takes first place with 9 points, while Italy has to carefully rethink its position in the group.

Erling Haaland demonstrated his impressive goal difference of 41 goals in 42 international matches. The chances for Norway to qualify directly for the World Cup are good, since only the group winner secures direct participation and the runner-up has to go to the play-offs. Italy, on the other hand, will have to look at the next games with concern, since they have already missed the last two world championships and are now in front of the next game against Moldau, which is in the last place in the table.

The group placements

The pressure on Italy is considerable because they rank in the table behind Israel (6 points) and Estonia (3 points). In another game of group I, Israel won 3-1 against Estonia, with Oscar Gloukh scored a goal. These results also put the Italian team under pressure.

more results from the European qualification games

In other qualification games of the 2026 World Cup, Croatia impressively won 7-0 against Gibraltar. Andrej Kramaric scored two goals (77th and 79th minute), while Franjo Ivanovic was allowed to celebrate his first two goals for Croatia (60th and 63rd minute). The Czech Republic was also able to stand out and won 2-0 against Montenegro, and Adam Hložek and Patrik Schick met. Belgium played 1-1 against Northern Macedonia in a more balanced game. Maxim de Cuyper put Belgium in the lead, but Ezgjan Alioski made it compensated in the 87th minute.

The exciting phase of the World Cup qualifications continues to develop, and the next games will be crucial for many teams. For Italy there is now a critical duel against Moldova, while Norway is in a comfortable position to successfully complete Group I. The developments related to qualifications give football fans for an exciting sequel.

For detailed information and game statistics, the complete reports can be found at vienna.at rnd.de and kicker.de can be read.