Haaland scores again as Norway crushes Italy in World Cup qualifier and Croatia cruises

Erling Haaland scored and Norway humbled Italy 3-0 for the first time in 25 years in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup on Friday.

Haaland collected a through ball from playmaker Martin Odegaard and rounded goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma in the box for the third goal three minutes before halftime.

It was his 41st goal in his 42nd match for Norway to the delight of the spectators at Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo, including King Harald V of Norway.

Haaland also scored when Moldova was beaten 5-0 and Israel 4-2. Norway remained perfect in qualifying after three games in Europe Group I.

Striker Alexander Sorloth received a precise pass from Antonio Nusa then beat Donnarumma with a left foot shot. Nusa, the 20-year-old attacking midfielder, was a constant threat to the Italian defense. He left behind two defenders and doubled the advantage with a rising shot from inside the area.

Italy was missing some regulars for its first qualifying match, while others failed to impress, including Mateo Retegui, the best Serie A scorer.

Defenders Alessandro Buongiorno and Mattia Gabbia, defensive midfielder Manuel Locatelli and forward Moise Kean were all injured while key center back Francesco Acerbi, who was meant to mark Haaland, turned down his callup.

Diego Coppola played center back in the three-man defensive line used by coach Luciano Spalletti that was not able to stop Norway.

Norway dominates, Italy in trouble

In the other Group I game, Israel won in Estonia 3-1 for a second win and second place.

The Azzurri are under pressure from the start of their qualifying after failing to reach the last two World Cups.

Winning the group is the only way to ensure direct qualification to next year’s tournament in North America. The second-placed team goes into the playoffs — the stage where Italy was eliminated by Sweden and North Macedonia and ruled out of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, respectively.

A four-time World Cup champion, the only other time Italy didn’t qualify was for the 1958 edition.

Italy hosts Moldova on Monday when Norway will be in action at Estonia.

Croatia cruises, Belgium held

Croatia opened its qualifying with a 7-0 rout of minnow Gibraltar.

Mario Pašalić and Ante Budimir struck twice for Croatia within two minutes to break the deadlock after half an hour. In the second half, substitutes Andrek Kramaric and Franjo Ivanovis scored a couple each and Ivan Perisic piled on.

Croatia was runner-up in the 2018 World Cup and third in 2022.

In the same Group L, Adam Hložek and Patrik Schick each scored as the unbeaten Czech Republic beat Montenegro 2-0 for a third straight win.

Belgium was 1-0 up on a goal by defender Maxim De Cuyper but Ezgjan Alioski salvaged a draw for North Macedonia in a surprise in Group J.

Wales tops the group with seven points from three games after a 3-0 victory over Liechtenstein. North Macedonia was two points behind.

Europe to contribute a third of all teams

Europe will have 16 teams in the expanded 48-team field for the World Cup.

They will come from the winners of the 12 qualifying groups plus four from a playoff of the 12 group runners-up together with four best-ranked group winners in the Nations League that don’t finish first or second in the qualifying.

The group stage of European qualifying runs through November.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer