Haaland helps Norway start World Cup qualifying campaign with rout at Moldova

Erling Haaland helped Norway make a positive start to its World Cup qualifying campaign by scoring in a 5-0 rout at Moldova on Saturday.

Norway's third and last World Cup appearance was back in 1998, two years before Haaland was born.

Now, Haaland leads a team featuring Arsenal midfielder Martin Odegaard that bears high expectations of reaching the 2026 tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

The Scandinavian side is favored to win Group I, which also saw Israel beat Estonia 2-1 in the opening round.

Haaland scored Norway’s second goal against the outmatched Moldova. That took his exceptional career haul to 39 goals in 40 appearances for his country since his 2019 debut.

Dortmund defender Julian Ryerson opened the scoring for Norway five minutes after kickoff in Chisinau. Haaland doubled the lead in the 23rd. Thelo Aasgaard, who assisted Ryerson for the opener, made it three before Odegaard set up Alexander Sorloth before halftime. Substitute Aron Donnum got on the scoreboard in the second half.

Haaland already knows what it is to win the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup with Manchester City, but he has yet to take his country to a major tournament. Injury ruled Haaland out of several matches during Norway’s unsuccessful qualifying campaign for the 2022 World Cup. The talented Norway team likewise failed to qualify for the 2024 European Championship when it disappointed with a third-place group finish behind Spain and Scotland.

Wales wins

Wales beat Kazakhstan 3-1 in Cardiff as the British team seeks a second straight World Cup appearance. Also in Group J, North Macedonia won 3-0 at Liechtenstein.

Czech Republic’s Patrik Schick scored twice in a 2-1 win over Faroe Islands in Group L, where Montenegro fought back for a 3-1 win over Gibraltar.

Europe to send 16 teams

Europe will have 16 teams in the expanded 48-team field for next year's World Cup in North America.

They will come from the winners of the 12 qualifying groups plus four from a playoff of the group runners-up.

The group stage of European qualifying runs through November.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer