Norway qualified for the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 27 years. This happened after a convincing victory over Italy with a score of 4:1 in the eighth round of the group stage of the 2026 World Cup. On the eve of the match, Norway had seven wins from seven games and 21 points, leading the group; Italy had 18 points, but theoretically could still hope for first place only if they won by a large margin.
In the match against Norway, Italy opened the scoring in the 11th minute after a precise shot by Francesco Pio Espozito and until halftime held a minimal lead. However in the 63rd minute Nusa equalized, after which Erling Haaland scored a brace in the 78th and 79th minutes, putting Norway ahead. The final goal was scored by Jorgen Larsen in stoppage time.
With the victory over Italy, Norway extended its winning streak to ten matches in a row in all competitions, starting with the match against Slovenia in the group stage of the Nations League in October 2024 (4:1).
Regarding the qualification for the 2026 World Cup, Norway scored 37 goals and conceded only 5, finishing the qualifiers in first place in the group with 24 points. In the final Group I table, the country took first place with 24 points and a 37:5 in the goals-for-to-goals-against ratio.
Group I – final tournament table: Norway – 24 points (8 matches), 37:5; Italy – 18 (8), 21:12; Israel – 12 (8), 19:20; Estonia – 4 (8), 8:21; Moldova – 1 (8), 5:32. Direct qualification for the 2026 World Cup and a place in the play-off.
History of Norway’s participation in the World Cup
Norway qualified for the FIFA World Cup for the first time in four decades. The last time this happened was in 1998, when the team reached the playoff and were eliminated in the Round of 16. The best results are reaching the Round of 16 in 1938 and 1998; in both cases Norway lost to Italy: 2-1 after extra time in 1938 and 1-0 in regular time in 1998.
World Cup 2026 qualification by region looks like this: North and Central America – Canada, Mexico, the USA; Asia – Iran, Uzbekistan, South Korea, Jordan, Japan, Australia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia; Africa – Egypt, Senegal, South Africa, Cabo Verde, Morocco, Côte d’Ivoire, Algeria, Tunisia, Ghana; South America – Argentina, Ecuador, Colombia, Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay; Oceania – New Zealand; Europe – France, Portugal, Norway, England, Croatia.