World Cup qualifying: Norway thump Moldova 11-1, Austria beat Bosnia and Herzegovina

Norway thumped Moldova 11-1 with Erling Haaland netting five goals to help maintain their 100% record in World Cup qualifying.

His five-goal haul marked a personal best for Norway and was the most scored by a European man in a World Cup qualifier since Austria’s Hans Krankl netted six against Malta in 1977.

Despite having been involved in a freak bus accident on Monday – requiring stitches in his face – the Manchester City forward was on hand to steal the headlines once again.

Norway’s dominance was further underlined by four goals off the bench from Thelo Aasgaard, with Felix Horn Myhre and captain Martin Odegaard also on the scoresheet.

Norway now sit six points clear of Italy in Group I with 15 points from five games, after the Azzurri scraped a 5-4 win over Israel on Monday.

The qualifiers will conclude with a crucial head-to-head clash between Norway and Italy in November, which could decide the group’s top spot.

Elsewhere, Marcel Sabitzer and Konrad Laimer found the net as Ralf Rangnick's Austria beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-1 in Zenica.

Sabitzer and Laimer netted either side of Edin Dzeko's 50th minute strike –  his fourth goal in his last three UEFA World Cup qualifiers. 

While Bosnia remain top of Group H on goal difference, Austria have a game in hand on the leaders, having won all four of their qualification games so far. 

Elsewhere, Ukraine were held to a 1-1 draw in Azerbaijan, with a 72nd-minute Emin Mahmudov penalty cancelling out Heorhii Sudakov's earlier goal for the visitors.

Despite conceding two early goals, Cyprus' dominance paid dividends as they fought back to earn a 2-2 draw against Romania.

The Cypriots posted an expected goals (xG) figure of 2.13, registering 18 shots, as goals from Loizos Loizou and Charalampos Charalampous mitigated Denis Dragus' brace. 

Meanwhile, Albania registered a 1-0 home win over Latvia, with the hosts moving up to second in Group K, behind England.