Alexander Sørloth and Erling Haaland both scored twice in Norway’s 4-1 home win against Estonia on Thursday that put them on the verge of qualifying for the World Cup for the first time since 1998.
Norway have all but secured a place at next year’s tournament in North America as they hold a six-point lead over second-placed Italy, who play Moldova later on Thursday, in Group I. Italy need to beat both Moldova and Norway in their remaining two qualifiers and overturn a 19-goal deficit to leapfrog the Norwegians and snatch the automatic qualifying spot.
The visitors initially denied the hosts the space and rhythm they have so often exploited during this qualification campaign. Oscar Bobb missed the best chance to put Norway ahead when he struck the woodwork with a low cross just before half-time. The home crowd, expecting a comfortable lead, made their frustration clear, greeting the whistle with loud boos as the players headed towards the dressing room.
Five minutes after the restart, loud cheers erupted around the stadium after Sander Berge swung in a cross in front of the box that Sørloth headed in to break the deadlock. Barely two minutes later, Sørloth guided a second header home.
From then on there was no stopping Norway. The Estonian defence fell apart, and another driven cross found Haaland, who powered in yet another header to give Norway a 3-0 lead in the 56th minute. Haaland added another in the 62nd minute before Robi Saarma pulled one back for Estonia just two minutes later.
Nigeria beat Gabon 4-1 in their World Cup African qualifying playoff semi-final in Rabat, but they needed extra time before running out comfortable winners.
The striker Akor Adams snapped up a shallow back pass from Gabon’s defender Aaron Appindangoyé and caught the goalkeeper Loyce Mbaba way out of his goal for an easy tap-in for Nigeria’s opening goal in the 78th minute. But Mario Lemina snatched an 89th-minute equaliser to take the game into an additional 30 minutes.
A goal from Chidera Ejuke and two from Victor Osimhen made sure of Nigeria’s progress to the final in the Moroccan capital on Sunday, where they will take on the Democratic Republic of Congo. The winner then advances to the inter-confederation playoffs in March where six teams will compete for two places at the 2026 finals
In the other semi-final, the Democratic Republic of Congo captain, Chancel Mbemba, snuck in at the back post to score a dramatic last-gasp winner for his team as they edged Cameroon 1-0.
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Mbemba stole in unmarked to force home a corner from Brian Cipenga to secure a dramatic victory for his country and keep them on course for possible qualification to next year’s finals.
This story will be updated
