Erling Holand was unstoppable in the match against Moldova // Photo: reuters.com
Moldovan national team coach Serghei Cleschenko said at the post-match press conference that the defeat was a great shame. “Talked to the players after the match, each named his reason for the defeat. This result is my fault. We need to decide what we will do next,” – said the head coach.
Manchester City forward Erling Holand scored the most goals for the Moldovan national team. He made a penta-trick, scoring on the 11th, 36th, 43rd, 52nd and 83rd minutes. Holand became the first player in the XXI century to score five goals in a World Cup qualifying match. The record had stood since 1977, when Austria’s Hans Krankl scored against Malta.
Midfielder Telo Osgor scored a hat trick – he struck the goal of Christian Avram in the 68th, 76th minutes, the first minute of extra time, and also realized a penalty – in the 79th minute. One goal each was scored by midfielders Felix Horn Myhre and Martin Edegaard, who plays for Arsenal. Norwegian defender Leo Estigor struck his own goal in the 76th minute, thus the “tricolor” avoided defeat with a dry score.
Following the match, Erling Holand called the incident crazy and said that the Norwegian players have a lot of responsibility, “so you just have to give it your best.” “Everything speaks for itself. It’s cool that I’m not only scoring but also giving passes, that’s important too. The main thing is to keep it up,” Norwegian TV2 quoted the player as saying.
Hungary’s Balazs Berke led the refereeing crew. There were 24,650 fans in the stands of Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo, where the match took place.
The defeat against Norway was the fifth consecutive defeat in the current qualifying cycle and the biggest in the history of the national team of Moldova. “Tricolor” are at the bottom of the standings in Group I.
Another meeting took place within the sixth round. The Italian national team pulled out a victory over Israel in a dramatic match in extra time. By the 81st minute the four-time world champions led 4:2, but three minutes before the end of the main time Italian defender Alessandro Bastoni hit his own goal, and two minutes later Israeli midfielder Dor Peretz equalized the score. The winning goal in extra time was scored by Squadra Azzurra midfielder Sandro Tonali.
The national team of Moldova will miss the next, seventh round and will play a friendly match with Romania on October 9. The Norwegian national team will take on Israel, while Estonia will take on Italy. Both matches will take place on October 11. The next match of the qualifying tournament will be held on October 14, playing away against Estonia.
|
Position in Group I of the qualifying cycle for the World Cup-2026 after six rounds |
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|
№ |
National team | P | W | D | L | G |
Pts |
|
1 |
Norway* |
5 |
5 | 0 | 0 | 24-3 |
15 |
|
2 |
Italy** |
4 |
3 | 0 | 1 | 12-7 |
9 |
|
3 |
Israel |
4 |
3 | 0 | 1 | 15-11 |
9 |
|
4 |
Estonia |
5 |
1 | 0 | 4 | 5-13 |
3 |
|
5 |
Moldova |
5 |
0 | 0 | 5 | 3-25 |
0 |
| * The first place team in the group directly qualifies for the World Championship
** The second-placed team qualifies for the playoffs, in which 16 teams will play for four spots. |
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