Norway Shines Bright with Five-Star Performance Against Moldova to Start World Cup Campaign

Norway commenced their quest to qualify for the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1998 in impressive fashion, securing a commanding 5-0 victory against Moldova in Chisinau. This result marked Norway’s fifth triumph in their last six matches, while Moldova’s dismal run continued, leaving them winless in 21 World Cup qualifying fixtures.

Having won their last three home encounters against teams ranked 168th or lower, Moldova faced a much tougher challenge from the outset. The reality of this challenge hit home just five minutes into the match when goalkeeper Dumitru Celeadnic collided with teammate Artur Craciun while attempting to gather a cross, inadvertently gifting the ball to Thelo Aasgaard, who combined with Julian Ryerson to score his first international goal.

It wasn’t long before Haaland almost doubled Norway’s tally, meeting a cross with a volley that thumped just over the crossbar. The star striker eventually got on the scoresheet midway through the first half, slotting home after a fantastic team build-up involving Martin Odegaard, Alexander Sorloth, and Andreas Schjelderup, which all began in the visitors’ half.

Moldova finally tested Norway’s goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland after 33 minutes when he managed to tip Mihail Caimacov’s free-kick over the bar, just before Norway added their third goal.

After failing to clear an Odegaard corner, Aasgaard took advantage, scoring with a well-placed shot at the near post. Odegaard then showcased his quality once more, delivering another curling corner right before halftime that Sorloth flicked into the far corner, bringing Norway’s total to four.

As the second half began, Moldova’s Serghei Cleșcenco aimed to ruin Nyland’s clean sheet; however, Nyland was equal to attempts from Nichita Moțpan and Ion Nicolaescu. Meanwhile, Celeadnic produced a remarkable save to deny Kristoffer Ajer’s close-range shot and keep the score at 4-0.

However, his efforts could only stave off the inevitable until the 69th minute, when Ryerson set up Aron Dønnum, who calmly stroked the ball past Celeadnic, securing the final goal of the match.

This convincing victory marks just the third away win in nine attempts for Stale Solbakken’s side, who have now achieved back-to-back 5-0 victories. As for Moldova, they continue to seek their first win in their last five meetings with Norway.