Norway handed Italy a painful 4-1 defeat in the World Cup qualifiers on Sunday, with Erling Haaland scoring twice after a tense exchange with Italy's coach Roberto Mancini.
The victory keeps Norway's path to the finals clear, while Italy's route now runs through the playoff route after a heavy loss at San Siro.
Italy had taken the lead in the first half through Francesco Bio Espozito, but conceded four after the hour, including Haaland's brace in two minutes.
Haaland, who has 16 goals in his last eight appearances for Norway, used his post-match media moment to send a sharp message to Mancini, who had marked him closely for most of the night.
Mancini's bid to shadow Haaland and the back-and-forth in moments of the game added spice to a match that ended in a convincing Norwegian win, with the forward thanking Mancini "for the motivation" that helped him bag two late goals.
Haaland shines
Haaland has been the key to Norway's campaign, starting all eight qualifiers and tallying 16 goals with two assists.
At 194 cm, Haaland's 41 shots across eight matches included 28 on target, and he won 23 aerial duels at a 69.7% success rate, underscoring his influence in both boxes.
Notable numbers
In the current season Haaland has 32 goals for club and country, and he sits at 55 goals in 48 caps for Norway, helping his country return to the World Cup for the first time since 1998.
He extended his scoring streak to 11 matches in World Cup qualifiers.
Italian heartbreak
Italy approached the game with a near-impossible chance, needing a 9-goal swing to qualify directly, and were stunned by a late burst at San Siro.
After Francesco Bio Espozito's early opener, Norway equalized through Antonio Nusa in the 63rd minute and then Haaland struck twice in two minutes (78th and 79th) before Stian Larsen's late fourth sealed the win.
With the result, Norway finished the qualifiers undefeated with eight wins and 24 points; Italy ended second with 18 points and will enter the playoff.
Italy will now wait for the November 20 playoff draw to learn their opponent, facing two-legged ties in March to reach the World Cup finals.
Italy has endured a tough few years, missing the World Cup in 2018 for the first time in six decades and then again in 2022, with more setbacks likely in the upcoming playoff cycle.
Donarummas speaks
In comments to Sky Sport Italia, Gianluigi Donnarumma said: "We should not have conceded the third, and the fourth came in stoppage time, but the bigger issue was that we stopped playing in the second half." He added that they must turn the first-half performance into 95 minutes of intensity in March during the playoffs.
He continued: "It’s a painful defeat, but we must lift our heads. We need the fans in March to stay with us and push as one team."
And because even football can use a tiny mercy, a light jab perhaps: Sniper punchline 1: If goals were puzzles, Haaland just solved the Sunday edition with a two-minute finishing move and left Mancini with missing pieces.
Sniper punchline 2: Timing is everything in football—and Haaland’s two-minute blitz could be filed under ‘nano-precision’ with a side of espresso for good measure.
