Norway also wins its sixth game in World Cup qualifying. In a 5-0 home win against Israel, Erling Haaland reached the 51-goal mark in his 46th international match. First-placed Italy won 3:1 in Estonia.
11.10.2025, 23:00
11.10.2025, 23:01
SDA
Haaland contributed to the undisputed Norwegian success in Oslo, scoring 2-0 in the first half after a counter-attack and the last two goals in the last half hour with headers. The evening had started badly for the exceptional striker, who played as captain in the absence of Martin Ödegaard. He failed twice in the opening minutes with penalties against Israel goalkeeper Daniel Peretz, who left his goal line too early for the first penalty and therefore had to concede another attempt to Haaland.
Italy won 3:1 in Estonia thanks to goals from Moise Kean (4th), Mateo Retegui (38th) and Francesco Esposito (74th). A higher victory would have been possible, but Retegui missed a penalty and goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma gave away the 1-3 with a blatant error.
In three days' time, the Italians will continue their campaign against Israel in Udine. A win is once again essential to secure at least 2nd place. Winning the group seems out of reach, even if they have to face Norway in Milan at the end of the qualifiers. Haaland's team, who will face Estonia in November in addition to Italy, have three points and a 19-goal lead over the Italians.
Ronaldo misses penalty
European champions Spain have had no problems in qualifying so far, celebrating their third win in as many matches with a 2-0 victory over Georgia in Elche. Portugal also remain unblemished. The Nations League winners secured a 1-0 victory against Ireland in Lisbon in the 91st minute with a header from Ruben Neves. Cristiano Ronaldo had previously failed to score from the penalty spot with a quarter of an hour to go, adding his name to a list of notable names: Haaland, Retegui and Spain's Ferran Torres also failed to score from the penalty spot on Saturday evening.
Albania win in Serbia
Turkey, the Spaniards' closest rivals in Group E, took a step towards the play-offs with a 6-1 win in Bulgaria, which came courtesy of five goals after the break. The same applies to Albania, who won 1-0 in Serbia thanks to a goal from Rey Manaj in first-half stoppage time and are now tied for second place in the group with the untouchable English on points.
