Haaland Smashes in Five for Norway Against Moldova in World Cup Qualifier

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Erling Haaland Playing for Norway

Erling Haaland may have taken time away from the Premier League during the international break, but there was no rest for goalkeepers and defences on the international stage. The Manchester City man has not been at his best this term in the early stages of the 2025/26 PL season. But even so, his three goals in three games mean he once again leads the top-flight scoring charts.

Haaland may struggle to hit the heights this term in a misfiring Man City side. Then again, if his form during the international break is anything to go by, maybe he can propel them back to their best.

Norway played one friendly and one competitive game during the September break. Haaland scored the winner first up against Finland. His penalty after 17 minutes was the only goal of the game and gave his nation good momentum going into their World Cup qualifier against Moldova five days later.

Image credit: Alizada Studios / Shutterstock.com.

Norway Looking Good for Qualification

World Cup European Qualifiers Group I Outright Betting

Haaland, Martin Odegaard and their Norwegian countrymen are drawn in Group I of UEFA qualifying for the 2026 World Cup in North America. With just one team making it through to the finals automatically, they looked up against it, being drawn in a group that also contained Italy.

The Italians have struggled in qualification for major tournaments over the last six years or so but even so, they were strong favourites to top a group that also contains Israel, Estonia and Moldova. Really, Norway were expected to be battling it out with Israel to finish second and advance to the play-offs.

Right now Norway are very much in the driving seat though. They opened with a thumping of Moldova away from home, winning 5-0. They then beat Israel on the road, scoring four. Their next match was the one that really threw the cat among the pigeons, though, as they put Italy to the sword in Oslo. Haaland scored – of course – and helped his side to a 3-0 win.

They also won 1-0 in Estonia, Haaland maintaining his record of scoring in every game. But last time out they really went to town and pretty much ensured that they will be at the World Cup, even if they lose to Italy but manage to win their final two games. Those matches are at home to Israel and at home again against Estonia. Given that they have beaten both away from home, things are looking really good for them.

In this tournament, the first tiebreaker is goal difference and at the time of writing, Norway’s is a staggering +21! With Italy 16 goals back, there is every chance that if the rest of the group games go as the bookmaker’s predict, Haaland’s men will top Group I on goal difference and earn their spot in the next World Cup

Norway Batter Miserable Moldova

Thanks to beating Italy 3-0, Norway were already in a strong position in terms of goal difference. However, their latest performance saw them thrash Moldova by a whopping 11-1 scoreline in front of a shocked, yet thrilled, 25,000 fans in the Norwegian capital. That has pretty much left the group as theirs for the taking, even if they slip up in the final game of the group in Milan.

Rangers midfielder Thelo Aasgard, who was born in Liverpool, bagged four goals, and yet was not his side’s top scorer on the night. That honour belonged to five-star, five-goal Haaland. It was a sensational display from Norway, who scored after just six minutes. Haaland netted his goals in the 11th, 36th, 43rd, 52nd and 83rd minutes, while Odegaard scored in first-half stoppage time.

Aasgard only came on with 26 minutes remaining and yet netted four times. He now boasts five international games from just three appearances. With Norway also boasting Oscar Bobb and Athletico Madrid’s Alexander Sorloth, they have some serious attacking talent, and could be an interesting dark horse come the World Cup next summer.

Haaland’s Stunning Stats

Haaland recently broke the record for the most goals in his first 100 Premier League games. We say broke but smashed would probably be more fitting, given he improved it by more than 11%. He had effectively already broken the record back in January, when his 80th PL strike took him past Alan Shearer’s tally of 79, when the Norwegian ace had only played 87 games. 13 matches later he set a new record of 88 and when we consider the names below him (Shearer, 79), Ruud van Nistelrooy (68), Sergio Aguero (64), Andrew Cole, Mo Salah and Fernando Torres (all 63), once again we see just how impressive the Man City forward is.

There is no end of Premier League records that now belong to the muscular attacker, but given his five-goal salvo on international duty, we will instead look more closely at his equally impressive stats for Norway. In a sense, this is even more spectacular as while City won the treble in his first campaign at the club, Norway are ranked 33rd in the world by FIFA, below Wales and Serbia. Moreover, their current rank reflects recent good form and is their highest position since 2013.

On the international stage, Norway can be seen as akin to a mid-level Championship side and yet their star man delivers stats that hold up against any other player in the world. His recent blitz means that with his country he now averages better than a goal a game, with 48 international strikes from just 45 matches.

The Leeds-born superstar only turned 25 in July and it is reasonable to expect him to get better and better, especially with a taskmaster and tactical genius like Pep Guardiola driving him on at Man City. So far 2025 certainly looks like being a stellar year for the former Dortmund man and he is just one goal shy of his best return for Norway.

In 2024, he bagged 11 goals from 10 matches and this year he already has 10 goals from just six games. His incredible return seems set to fire Norway to the World Cup next summer, and it will be brilliant to see another of the world’s best players able to show their stuff on the biggest stage.

Critics (and, incredibly given his record, Haaland has more than his fair share) might argue that he is something of a flat-track bully. They would point to the five he scored against Moldova and hat-tricks against Romania, Gibraltar, Kosovo and Kazakhstan. That said, he can only score against the teams Norway play, and overall he has done pretty well in that regard. He has also scored against Netherlands, Italy, Austria, Sweden and Denmark, to name just a few.

Let’s just hope he can continue scoring and indeed propel his side to the World Cup. If he and Odegaard are at their best in North America, we certainly wouldn’t be surprised to see Norway advance beyond the group phase.