Odegaard shines in Norway’s historic win. The Norway national team achieved a shock and remarkable feat of football on 9 September 2025 where Odegaard shines. They beat Moldova 11-1 in a World Cup qualifying match. Moreover, at the center of the operation was captain Martin Ødegaard who put in an exhibition that showed exactly why he is one of the best midfielders in the world.
Early Orchestration
From the opening whistle, however, the Arsenal playmaker was sensational. Moreover, he had a strong hand in setting up Norway’s attacks with his vision and technical proficiency. He also immediately made an impact, by looping a sneaky pass behind Moldova’s defenders to set up Erling Haaland, who squared the ball to Felix Horn Myhre for Norway’s first goal only a couple of minutes into the match. This was just the beginning of Ødegaard’s performance.
Martin Ødegaard played the full 90 minutes, scored one goal & provided two assists in Norway’s 11-1 win (!) over Moldova tonight. 🥶🇳🇴
87/105 accurate passes
134 touches
13 passes into final third
11 recoveries
7 chances created (most in the game)
2 assists 🅰️
1 goal ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/4UIt3iLBWu
— afcstuff (@afcstuff) September 9, 2025
A Deadly Partnership with Haaland
He was devastating with his connection to Haaland. Twice Ødegaard played sit-on-a-dime through balls that allowed the Manchester City striker to complete a first half hat-trick and with it bring the score to 4-0. Not to be out done by creating chances, he then went on to score himself after a deflected flick to a team mate broke kindly back into his path.
⚽🅰️ 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐑, 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐆𝐀𝐀𝐑𝐃 — 1 goal, 2 assists, most chances created (7), most duels won (9) and most fouled (3) as Norway destroyed Moldova 11-1! 😤 pic.twitter.com/FK3MwZkUfi
— AFTV (@AFTVMedia) September 10, 2025
Getting on the Scoresheet
The second half saw Ødegaard’s influence continue without interruption. Not only did Ødegaard’s shot rebound for Thelo Aasgaard to score Norway’s 7th, he contributed to the buildup to their tenth goal with a clever set piece. On paper, he finished with one goal and two assists, however; his contribution to Norway’s performance was greater than simply contributing to the six of eleven goals he was part of.
A Relentless Influence
With this match, Ødegaard had a WhoScored perfect 10. Moreover, he held his spot as Norway’s rated player in the qualifiers with an average rating of 8.32. The most significant aspect is that he demonstrated that there can be absolutely no doubt at all that his recent shoulder injury is in the past.
Qualification Picture
Norway’s win has given them a comfortable six-point gap at the top of their qualification group. Italy is in second but they have a game in hand. The match with Italy on 16 November is a critical one for the automatic qualification spots from the group.
From Prodigy to Leader
For Ødegaard, the match is just another stop on the remarkable journey from teenaged wonder to impactful leader. A captain who today continues to represent his country with world-class performances on the international stage.