In the early morning of November 14 (Vietnam time), Italy defeated Moldova 2-0 in Group I of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Europe, thereby maintaining the fragile hope of winning a direct ticket to the biggest football festival on the planet.
In the early match of the same group, Norway beat Estonia 4-1 at home. Thanks to the victory over Moldova, Italy narrowed the gap with the top team Norway to 3 points.
However, the difference in the goal difference is making Italy's direct door to the World Cup almost closed. Azzurri only has the 1,1002 goal difference, while Norway has the huge goal difference of +29.
That forced Italy to create a real earthquake - beating Norway by at least 9 goals in the rematch in the early morning of November 17 at San Siro. They need to eliminate the goal difference of up to 17 goals to be able to take the lead when both teams have points.
This is an unrealistic scenario, and the Thai team must probably prepare mentally to enter the 2026 World Cup play-off round in Europe.
Norway, under the leadership of stars Erling Haaland, Martin Odegaard and Alexander Sorloth, is showing convincing form. The 3-0 victory over Italy in June was considered a turning point for the group, and marked the first time the Nordic team defeated the Azzurri in 25 years.
