Moldova 0-5 Norway: Haaland off the mark in World Cup qualifying

Norway stormed to a 5-0 win over Moldova in their opening World Cup qualifier, with Erling Haaland on target.

Haaland grabbed Norway’s second goal in Saturday’s rout, as Stale Solbakken’s team moved top of Group I.

The Manchester City star added to Julian Ryerson’s fifth-minute opener at Stadionul Zimbru, where Norway went 4-0 up before half-time.

Thelo Aasgaard scored Norway’s third and Martin Odegaard laid on an assist for Alexander Sorloth.

Aron Donnum got in on the act midway through the second half.

Norway missed out on Euro 2024 despite having a squad stacked with attacking talent, but with 48 teams able to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, Solbakken’s team should fancy their chances of featuring at a major tournament for the first time since 2000.

Kampen er over og ender med 5-0-seier Strålende start på VM-kvalifiseringen! Ryerson, Haaland, Aasgard, Sørloth og Dønnum målscorere. pic.twitter.com/7yjAbVbqXD

— Fotballandslaget (@nff_landslag) March 22, 2025

Data Debrief: Haaland gets going

Haaland has now scored 39 international goals in just 40 appearances for his country.

He has scored in each of his past four World Cup qualifiers, netting six times across that run of appearances.

Unsurprisingly, he finished the game with the most shots (four) and shots on target (two).

Behind Haaland, Odegaard pulled the strings as Norway had 24 shots and accumulated chances worthy of 2.95 expected goals. The Arsenal playmaker had 102 touches and created four chances, with Ryerson and Sorloth also contributing as many key passes.