Norway 5-0 Israel: Italy hopes crushed by Haaland hat-trick

Italy hopes that Norway would drop points or lower their goal difference in the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign fell away with a 5-0 victory over Israel, as Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick after missing a penalty twice.

Considering if two teams are level on points, the first dividing factor is overall goal difference, the odds of the Azzurri overturning that gap are extremely slim, so their best hope is for Norway to drop points.

That means Italy are almost certainly heading for the World Cup play-offs next year, having lost 3-0 in Oslo back in June under Luciano Spalletti.

There was a protest march outside the stadium before kick-off, with similar scenes expected when Israel face Italy in Udine on Tuesday evening.

It was an extraordinary start to the game, as Dan Biton’s foul prompted the referee to point to the spot after just four minutes.

Haaland stepped up and saw the penalty saved by Daniel Peretz, but VAR spotted the goalkeeper had his feet off the line and so it had to be retaken.

On this occasion too, Haaland was denied by a great one-handed save, frustrating Norway. It was the first time Haaland had failed to convert a spot-kick during a competitive match.