28 years later, Norway will play in the World Cup again. Ståle Solbakken's team punched its ticket to next year's world championship in the USA, Canada and Mexico, after not only not conceding 9 goals against Italy, but even achieved a second victory against this rival in Group I of the European zone qualifiers, this time with a 4:1 victory in the middle of "San Siro", BNT reported.
The Scandinavians finish their qualifying campaign with an impressive 8 wins from 8 matches and a goal difference of 37:5.
For Gennaro Gattuso's boys, the hope remains to qualify for the 2026 World Cup through the play-offs. The Italians, who finished with 16 points in the group, have not qualified for a World Cup since 2014.
Given the near-impossible task for the "Squadra Azzurri", the hosts needed a strong start in the pouring rain at the "San Siro". That is exactly what happened in the 11th minute when Julian Ryerson made a mistake near his own penalty area, Federico Dimarco and Matteo Retegi combined and the Inter left wing-back found his club teammate Francesco Pio Esposito, who scored for Italy's second consecutive match.
The Italians completely neutralized Norwegian star Erling Haaland in the first half and came close to doubling their lead on several occasions, but retreated at the break with the score at 1-0. The more memorable event in the first 45 minutes was the yellow card for coach Gennaro Gattuso, who failed to control his nerves due to a referee's decision.
"Squadra Azzurri" failed to carry their momentum into the second half and the Scandinavians began to look more boldly at the opponent's goal. In the 63rd minute, Norway reached the equalizer after Antonio Nusa advanced about 20 meters with the ball at his feet and then sent a powerful shot that checked Gianluigi Donnarumma.
And although Holland was relatively quiet tonight, in the 78th minute the Manchester City superstar scored his regular goal to bring the visitors to a complete turnaround. His club teammate Oscar Bob crossed to him, and the striker struck a ruthless volley that completely destroyed the Italians, because just a minute later Erling Haaland scored again in Donnarumma's goal. Bob intercepted a pass from Alessandro Bastoni and brought Morten Thorsby to the right wing, who easily found the ram in the penalty area, and he could not have made a mistake from such close range.
Substitute Jørgen Strand Larsen added further bitterness to Italy's taste with a fourth goal in the third minute of added time.
In the other Group I match, Israel defeated Moldova at home, also 4-1. The guests were left with a man down in the 18th minute, which opened the door for Ran Ben Simon's graduates to finish their campaign in the world qualifiers with success.
Israel remains in third place with 12 points, while Moldova is in last position with 1 single point.