CHISINAU: Erling Haaland helped Norway make a positive start to their World Cup qualifying campaign by scoring in a 5-0 rout at Moldova on Saturday.
Norway’s third and last World Cup appearance was back in 1998, two years before Haaland was born.
Now, Haaland lead a team featuring Arsenal midfielder Martin Odegaard that bear high expectations of reaching the 2026 tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The Scandinavian side are favored to win Group I, which also includes Estonia and Israel.
Haaland scored Norway’s second goal against the outmatched Moldova. That took his exceptional career haul to 39 goals in 40 appearances for his country since his 2019 debut.
Dortmund defender Julian Ryerson opened the scoring for Norway five minutes after kickoff in Chisinau. Haaland doubled the lead in the 23rd.
Thelo Aasgaard, who assisted Ryerson for the opener, made it three before Odegaard set up Alexander Sorloth before halftime. Substitute Aron Donnum got on the scoreboard in the second half.
Haaland already knows what it is to win the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup with Manchester City, but he has yet to take his country to a major tournament. Injury ruled Haaland out of several matches during Norway’s unsuccessful qualifying campaign for the 2022 World Cup.
The talented Norway team likewise failed to qualify for the 2024 European Championship when they disappointed with a third-place group finish behind Spain and Scotland.
Europe to send 16 teams
Europe will have 16 teams in the expanded 48-team field for next year’s World Cup in North America.
They will come from the winners of the 12 qualifying groups plus four from a playoff of the group runners-up.
The group stage of European qualifying runs through November.
Haaland helps Norway start their World Cup qualifying campaign with 5-0 rout
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Haaland helps Norway start their World Cup qualifying campaign with 5-0 rout
- The Scandinavian side are favored to win Group I, which also includes Estonia and Israel
- The talented Norway team likewise failed to qualify for the 2024 European Championship
Mexico to kick off 2026 World Cup against South Africa
- Mexico’s co-hosts the United States and Canada will join the party the next day
- Defending champions Argentina were grouped with Algeria, Austria and debutants Jordan
- Five-times winners Brazil will play Morocco — semifinalists in 2022 — Haiti and Scotland
WASHINGTON: The 2026 World Cup will kick off on June 11 with joint-hosts Mexico playing South Africa at the Azteca Stadium — iconic venue of the 1970 and 1986 finals — followed by South Korea against a playoff winner after the complex draw was made on Friday.
South Africa are appearing for the first time since 2010, when they drew with Mexico in the opening match but failed to reach the knockout stage.
Mexico’s co-hosts the United States and Canada will join the party the next day, against Paraguay and a playoff winner — possibly Italy — respectively in Los Angeles and Toronto.
The draw for the expanded 48-team tournament, with six berths still to be filled via a series of playoffs, was hugely complicated due to various geographical sub-clauses.
However, even the lengthy draw seemed short after an opening ceremony of over an hour that included US President Donald Trump being awarded the new FIFA peace prize.
DEFENDING CHAMPIONS ARGENTINA START AGAINST ALGERIA
Defending champions Argentina were grouped with Algeria, Austria and debutants Jordan, while five-times winners Brazil will play Morocco — semifinalists in 2022 — Haiti and Scotland.
The Scots are appearing in the finals for the first time since 1998, when they lost to Brazil in the opening game, while Haiti’s only previous appearance came in 1974.
France’s first game will be versus Senegal in a repeat of one of the biggest tournament upsets, when the Africans stunned the then-holders in their first game of the 2002 tournament. Norway and one of the playoff winners complete their group.
England will start against Croatia, who beat them in the 2018 semifinals, and also face Panama, who they thrashed 6-1 in the group stage in the same tournament, and Ghana.
Debutants Curacao, with a population of 150,000 making them by far the smallest country ever to reach the finals, face Germany, Ecuador and the Ivory Cost.
World number one-ranked Spain have a dream draw alongside debutants Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay.
The Netherlands are with Japan, Tunisia and a playoff winner, Belgium have Egypt, Iran and New Zealand, while Portugal face debutants Uzbekistan, Colombia and a playoff winner.
The teams outside the hosts’ groups will have to wait until Saturday to find out the venues and kickoff times for their games after soccer’s world governing body FIFA attempts to optimize them relating to the various worldwide TV markets.
A newly introduced seeding system ensures that the current top four in the world — Spain, holders Argentina, 2022 runners-up France and England — cannot meet until the semifinal stage if they win their groups.
