Norway and Spain are Europe´s two best teams, says Israel boss after Haaland-inspired rout

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Norway, along with European champions Spain, are one of the best two teams on the continent.

That is the view of Israel head coach Ran Ben-Shimon, whose team were torn apart by Erling Haaland and company in a 5-0 World Cup qualifying defeat in Oslo on Saturday.

Norway have not played at a major tournament since Euro 2000, but they are realistically just three points from confirming qualification for next year’s World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

They are six points clear of Italy in Group I, with the Azzurri having three games remaining to Norway’s two. However, Stale Solbakken’s team have a goal difference of +26, 19 better than that of their closest rivals, so one win would virtually guarantee top spot.

Haaland scored a hat-trick on Saturday to move to 12 goals in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, a tally that has only previously been bettered by Robert Lewandowski (16, 2018) and Cristiano Ronaldo (15, 2018) in a single cycle.