Norway's Erling Haaland, right, celebrates scoring during the World Cup qualifying soccer match between Norway and Moldova at Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Tuesday Sept. 9, 2025. (Fredrik Varfjell/NTB via AP)
September 09, 2025 - 2:28 PM
OSLO, Norway (AP) — Bearing stitches on his face from a bizarre accident with a bus door, Erling Haaland made his mark for the Norwegian national team by scoring five goals in an 11-1 win over Moldova in World Cup qualifying Tuesday.
The Manchester City striker had a hat trick by halftime but didn't stop there, finishing with Norway's second, third, fourth, sixth and 10th goals in one of the all-time biggest wins in European qualification for the World Cup.
Haaland did it all after requiring three stitches for getting “banged out” by the door of a bus, as he described it on social media, in an unusual accident, reportedly while he exited the vehicle at the team hotel.
Haaland scored two of his goals off passes from Arsenal's Martin Ødegaard, who also had a goal of his own. Felix Myhre scored one and set up Haaland's first, while substitute Thelo Aasgaard was in the unusual position of scoring four goals but not being his team's top scorer.
Even Moldova's goal was scored by a Norwegian as defender Leo Østigård sent an attempted pass into his own net.
It was the biggest win of this World Cup qualifying cycle in Europe, surpassing an 8-0 victory for the Netherlands over Malta in June, and came close to the all-time European qualification record, a 12-0 win by West Germany against Cyprus in 1969. It equaled Norway's largest margin of victory in a competitive game.
Moldova, ranked 154th in the world and sixth from last in Europe, has lost all five of its qualifying games and conceded a total 25 goals, scoring only three.
Even so, a quirk of the qualifying system means it still has a chance of reaching the World Cup. Moldova won a group in the lowest tier Nations League against Malta and Andorra and so could end up receiving a spot in the playoff round.
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