Norway ease to win over stunned Italy
Norway 3 - 0 Italy
Italy’s 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign began in dismal fashion as they were swept aside 3-0 by a vibrant Norway in Oslo, all three goals coming before half-time in a chastening opening to Group I.
Author | Peter Grainger
Stadium | Ullevaal Stadion
With several key players unavailable through injury, including Moise Kean, Alessandro Buongiorno and Giorgio Scalvini, and Francesco Acerbi declining a call-up, Luciano Spalletti handed a debut to Verona defender Diego Coppola and recalled Davide Zappacosta for his first appearance since 2018.
Norway, already with two wins in the group, took full advantage of Italy’s sluggish start. Alessandro Bastoni gave the ball away with a misplaced cross-field pass, allowing Antonio Nusa to thread a clever ball through for Alexander Sorloth, who beat Gianluigi Donnarumma with a low finish.
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Nusa made it two with a brilliant individual goal, cutting inside from the left and firing high into the net from the edge of the area. Just before the break, Erling Haaland latched onto a Martin Odegaard pass, skipped past Donnarumma and slotted into the empty net. It was the first time in their history that Italy had conceded three goals in the first half of a World Cup qualifier.
Italy improved slightly after the interval but never threatened to change the course of the match. Sander Berge struck the post and Lorenzo Lucca’s stoppage-time header was easily gathered by the Norwegian goalkeeper, their only effort on target all night.
The best reaction from someone that was there
An Italy fan told us: "There are always worries, because after a performance like that, the players clearly have to ask themselves some serious questions. It was not just the result that was disappointing, but the manner in which they lost. There was a lack of urgency, very little structure, and no real sense of belief or direction. When you are representing Italy, there is a level of pride and expectation that simply was not visible. The team cannot ignore what is going wrong.
"They need to face it directly, whether it is a question of mentality, tactical clarity, or the ability to play as a unit. These are problems that will not resolve themselves. If anything, this defeat was a wake-up call. World Cup qualification is no longer guaranteed, and this kind of performance only highlights the scale of the challenge ahead."
