Ronaldo sees red
©IMAGO
Led by double packers Erling Haaland and Alexander Sørloth, the Norwegian national football team is close to a direct ticket to next year’s World Cup after a home win over Estonia. France qualified in the evening thanks to a clear win against Ukraine. In Ireland, Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off for the first time in Portugal’s 2-0 defeat. The Portuguese missed early qualification for the World Cup due to the bankruptcy.
Thanks to the 4:1 (0:0) in Oslo, the undefeated Norwegians can still be overtaken by group runners-up Italy; Thanks to a three-point lead and the significantly better goal difference (+19), this is probably only in theory. Italy narrowly avoided defeat in the Republic of Moldova in the evening. Only shortly before the end did the Squadra Azzurra score twice against the extreme outsiders and win 2-0.
Norway’s match winners at the Ullevaal Stadium were two former Bundesliga strikers. Former Leipzig player Sörloth (50th and 52nd minute) and ex-BVB star Haaland (56th and 62nd) made things clear with their goals. Robi Saarma (65th) reduced the deficit for the outsiders, who had held up strongly until the break.
France through – victories for Iceland, Hungary and England
France won 4-0 against Ukraine on Thursday evening thanks to a brace from Kylian Mbappé and a goal each from Bayern’s Michael Olise and former Frankfurt player Hugo Ekitiké. At the same time, Portugal were left behind in Ireland with double goalscorer Troy Parrott. Ronaldo had to leave the field with a red card after an hour for an elbow strike against an opponent.
In Group F, Hungary secured the best starting position behind Portugal with a 1-0 win in Armenia. Iceland is also in second place in Group D after a 2-0 win in Azerbaijan, but could still be overtaken by Ukraine in the evening. The English, who had already qualified in Group K, managed a 2-0 win against Serbia in the evening. Albania won in Andorra.