In the 9th round of the UEFA World Cup Qualifiers group stage, Norway defeated Estonia 4-1 to maintain a firm grip on qualification initiative. In another match played later, Italy beat Moldova 2-0, but Norway’s qualification prospects remain almost unassailable.
Currently, Norway still leads Italy by 3 points in the standings. The two teams will face off directly in the final round to decide the final ranking. Theoretically, if Italy wins, the two teams will have the same points; but in reality, there is still a huge 17-goal difference gap between them. In other words, Italy must beat Norway by at least 9-0 in the final round to potentially overtake—an outcome that is almost impossible.
For Norway, the last time the team appeared in a major international tournament was the 2000 European Championship, and their last World Cup appearance dates back to the 1998 France World Cup. Led by a new generation of leading players such as Erling Haaland, Norway is striding towards the long-awaited World Cup stage.
