Norway sets historic milestone at World Cup, Erling Haaland says something surprising

(Dan Tri) - Striker Erling Haaland expressed his joy after contributing greatly to helping the Norwegian team qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1998 with a 4-1 victory over the Italian team in the early morning of November 17 (Vietnam time).

32 teams soon have tickets to attend World Cup 2026

Host (3 teams): USA, Mexico, Canada

Asia (8 teams): Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, South Korea, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar

South America (6 teams): Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay

Europe (5 teams): England, France, Croatia, Norway, Portugal

Oceania (1 team): New Zealand

Africa (9 teams): Egypt, Senegal, South Africa, Cape Verde, Morocco, Ivory Coast, Algeria, Tunisia, Ghana

"I feel a great responsibility to help Norway reach the World Cup. I have been expecting this for many years," Erling Haaland said after Norway's comeback win over Italy in the final round of Group I of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Europe.

Erling Haaland scored twice in Norway's 4-1 win over Italy (Photo: AFP).

Despite the home team Italy opening the scoring in the first half, the Man City striker shone in the second half with a double in just one minute (minutes 78 and 79), along with goals from Antonio Musa (minute 63) and Jorgen Strand Larsen (minute 90+3) to help Norway win the match 4-1.

This victory helped Norway make history with a ticket to the World Cup after nearly 3 decades, winning a ticket straight to North America with a series of 8 consecutive wins to top Group I.

The Scandinavian side secured top spot by scoring 37 goals during their run to the 2026 World Cup, with 16 of those goals coming from the 2000-born striker.

Erling Haaland's brilliance was met with applause from the San Siro crowd when he was substituted by coach Stale Solbakken in the 88th minute.

Erling Haaland celebrates excitedly after scoring for Norway (Photo: Getty).

"I have to shoulder a lot of responsibility and that's what I've always tried to do since I joined the national team in 2019. I don't know if you want to call it history or whatever you want to say.

"Norway have never qualified since I was born, it's a really big achievement for me to be able to do this. Once again, I will do everything I can to make it happen," Erling Haaland happily shared when he and Norway set a historic milestone.

Coach Stale Solbakken was also emotional when he saw his team qualify for the 2026 World Cup: "I will probably never have a better evening than this. It was almost surreal. I lost my mother this year, my father watched the match alone.

And here I am with Kenta, my childhood friend who grew up on the sand. Now we are standing at San Siro. It's a crazy story."

The 2026 World Cup will have a total of 48 participating teams, of which Asia has 8 direct slots and 1 play-in slot; Europe has 16 slots; Africa has 9 direct slots and 1 play-in slot; South America has 6 direct slots and 1 play-in slot; North, Central and South America and the Caribbean have 6 direct slots (including 3 co-host teams USA, Canada, Mexico) and 2 play-in slots; Oceania has 1 direct slot and 1 play-in slot.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/na-uy-lap-cot-moc-lich-su-o-world-cup-erling-haaland-noi-dieu-bat-ngo-20251117122303974.htm