Overview
The Norwegians have just had a successful Nations League campaign. They excellently won the top spot in Group B3 with 13/18 maximum points, scoring 15 goals in just 6 matches.
Norway has a very talented generation of players with outstanding stars such as Haaland, Odegaard and Sorloth. That is the foundation for coach Stale Solbakken's team to aim to participate in major tournaments.
Norway will start their 2026 World Cup ticket campaign with a match against Moldova, a highly rated opponent. Moldova won Group D2 in the recent Nations League, earning 9/12 maximum points.
However, playing in League D shows that Moldova is among the weakest teams in Europe at the moment. Therefore, despite having home advantage, Moldova is still not considered equal to Norway.
The last time Moldova met a team in League B, they were defeated by Ukraine with a score of 4-0 right at home. Therefore, playing at home in the next match is not a big advantage for Moldova.
Haaland is in poor form for Man City and the next match is an opportunity for him to regain his scoring touch. The striker has scored 4 goals in the last 2 matches for Norway and promises to cause many difficulties for Moldova's defense. As for Norway, they have also scored 9 goals in just their last 2 matches.
Personnel situation
Norwegian winger Antonio Nusa is absent due to injury. However, Arsenal star midfielder Odegaard has returned. The midfielder was absent from the final four matches of last year's Nations League due to injury, but will play in this match as a midfield leader.
On the other side of the front line, coach Serghei Clescenco has all the best options.
Expected lineup:
Moldova: Celeadnic, Revenco, Craciun, Baboglo, Mudrac, Platica, Caimacov, Rata, Motpan, Postolachi, Nicolaescu.
Norway: Selvik, Pedersen, Ajer, Ostigard, Ryerson, Berge, Johnsen, Odegaard, Hauge, Haaland, Sorloth.
The match between Moldova and Norway takes place at 0:00 am on February 23 (Vietnam time).
