Erling Haaland scored five goals while Norway hit Moldova 11-1 Tuesday to maintain their perfect record in the male World Cup qualifications and stay at the top of the group I table with 15 points in five games.
The five goals were a career summit for Haaland while playing for Norway and the most by a European man in qualification in the World Cup since Hans Krankl in Austria established the UEFA record of six against Malta in 1977.
The Manchester City striker played the match with stitches on the face after having collided with a door while leaving the team’s bus on Monday. He had his fifth round of the international hat at halftime, marking three times between the 11th and the 43rd minute, and torn off two others in the second period when he extended his remarkable score record for the country at 48 goals in 45 caps.
The result was the largest victory in this World Cup qualification cycle in Europe, exceeding an 8-0 victory for the Netherlands over Malta in June, and approached the European qualification record of all time, a 12-0 victory by West Germany against Cyprus in 1969.
He also maintained Norway six points from second place in Italy, which barely escaped their qualifier on Monday against Israel with a 5-4 victory.
Gennaro Gattuso Azzurri Have a game in hand as they continue Norway, Italy seeking to avoid a second place and to qualify via the path of the playoffs.
Felix Horn Myhre and Martin Ødegaard both scored, while Thelo Aasgaard added four goals in the flight victory for Norway, which will face Italy on the last day of qualification in November.
The Italian match on Monday was not decided until Sandro Tonali won a last winner who gave Gattuso the victory team and put them forward from Israel in the table on the difference in goals.
Gattuso, who replaced Luciano Spalletti as an Italian coach in June, admitted that it was “the craziest game with which I was involved as a coach”.
“But it’s my fault and not for players,” added Gattuso. “If we want to play in a way, we have to improve. We were crazy to systematically attack. This is what Israel was waiting for. They hit us on the counter each time.”
Fourtelative Italy has missed the last two World Cups.
The information from the Associated Press was used in this story.
