Stale Solkakken's Norway – with the talismanic Erling Haaland at the sharp end of the pitch – are heading to the World Cup finals for the first time since 1998 after a 4-1 victory over Italy on Saturday secured their spot at the top of Group I. Haaland's post-match interview, when he called out Gianluca Mancini for his behaviour, has gone viral too.
Francesco Pio Esposito gave Gennaro Gattuso’s side an 11th-minute lead but the visitors' four-goal rout in the second half gave those who had travelled thousands of miles plenty to scream and shout about. The fleet-footed Antonio Nusa levelled proceedings just beyond the hour mark before Haaland's brace gave Norway some breathing space.
Jorgen Strand Larsen, of Wolverhampton Wanderers at club level, put the icing on the cake with Norway's fourth goal in injury time – thus sparking wild scenes inside San Siro. Tensions also rose to the fore just before the half-time whistle as Haaland, widely regarded as one of the best strikers in world football, and Mancini exchanged a war of words.
2026 World Cup Qualifying – Group I
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Inside Haaland and Mancini's Clash During Norway's 4-1 Rout Over Italy
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None other than Gianlugi Donnarumma – compatriot of Mancini's and clubmate of Haaland's – was forced to hold back the lofty Norwegian. The Italians had managed, up until that point, to keep a bloodthirsty Norway frontline under wraps but his first-half spat with the 29-year-old, who plays his club football for AS Roma, only served as motivation.
Ahead of the game, which required a 9-0 win for Italy to the top their group, ex-Italy and Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci spoke to Sky Sport Italia about Mancini's role against Haaland. "This is a match where the objective is to win, create consistency, and prepare for March with the utmost confidence and self-esteem, as winning helps you to keep winning."
"[Erling] Haaland is proving himself to be a great striker, but we have great defenders who have always done well against players like this. We have the utmost faith in them, Mancini will be the one most involved in that battle, and we are sure Gianluca will have a strong performance, along with the whole team."
In an attempt to get under the skin of the Manchester City striker, Mancini was seen getting awfully close to the serial goal-getter – who would go on to score two brilliant goals in as many minutes to give his nation the momentum needed to go and grab a fourth late on. Haaland, speaking to TV2, explained after the match what happened between the pair.
“At 1–1, he started grabbing my a**, and I thought, ‘what are you doing?’ So I fired myself up a bit and said to him, ‘thanks a lot for the motivation, let’s f***ing have it.’ Then I scored two goals, we win 4–1, so that’s great. Thanks to him!”
Strand Larsen's goal in the final moments means that Haaland will be able to follow in the footsteps of his father, Alf Inge, by leading Norway out at a World Cup. Unbeaten in qualifying, they managed to score 37 and concede just five goals across eight matches – but how will they fare when rubbing shoulders with football's elite?
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Elsewhere, Italy were probably aware that scoring nine goals past Norway was near-impossible, but the nature of their second-half capitulation could have planted a seed of doubt in their minds as they try their luck in a play-off match to make it to their first World Cup since over a decade ago (2014); on that occasion, they went out of the group stages.