Norway 5-0 Israel: Haaland responds with hat-trick after early penalty misses
Norway star Erling Haaland was denied twice from a retaken early penalty, but Israel could not keep him quiet from then on in a 5-0 loss.
Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick after twice being denied from the penalty spot, as Norway thumped Israel 5-0 to remain perfect in World Cup qualifying.
Dan Biton tripped Patrick Berg in the third minute to gift Norway an early penalty, but Daniel Peretz dived right to keep out Haaland's kick.
The Israel goalkeeper was penalised by the VAR for coming off his line, and though Haaland went the opposite way with his second attempt, Peretz guessed correctly again.
However, that was only a temporary moment of respite for Israel. Norway went ahead in the 18th minute, as Alexander Sorloth's cross struck Anan Khalaili's back and looped over Peretz.
Haaland then made it 2-0 just one minute after Biton went close for Israel, taking in Sorloth's pass and applying a cool right-footed finish to cap a quick counter-attack.
Haaland was also involved in Norway's third goal in the 28th minute. With the striker pressing high, Peretz hit a rushed clearance against Idan Nachmias and in, and to add insult to injury, the Israel defender went off injured after colliding with the post.
It remained one-way traffic after the break, and Haaland's next two goals came from the same source as he rose to nod two left-wing crosses from Antonio Nusa beyond Peretz.
Wolves striker Jorgen Strand Larsen came off the bench and had a potential sixth goal disallowed for offside after being fed by Haaland, with Norway able to put their feet up and hope Group I rivals Italy drop points in Estonia later on Saturday.
Data Debrief: Haaland passes half-century in style
Haaland now has 12 goals in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, in six appearances. No other player has netted more than six times in this UEFA qualification cycle (Memphis Depay, Marko Arnautovic and Andrej Kramaric).
He is only the fifth player to reach that figure within a single UEFA World Cup qualification cycle, after Robert Lewandowski (16, 2018), Cristiano Ronaldo (15, 2018), Harry Kane (12, 2022) and Depay (12, 2022).
Haaland is also up to 51 international goals in just 46 games. For context, Kane needed 71 matches to score 50 international goals, Lionel Messi required 107, and his great rival Ronaldo needed 114.
Norway, meanwhile, have scored 29 goals in their six 2026 World Cup qualifiers. The only team to ever score more in a campaign consisting of fewer than 10 games are Germany, who netted 33 times in eight matches ahead of the 1982 tournament.
