Comments and predictions for Norway vs Italy: Comeback with Haaland

Latest Norway vs Italy team information

Norway enter this training camp – where they will play Estonia next Monday – with a full squad, so coach Stale Solbakken can field his most stable squad.

Captain Martin Odegaard – who leads the UEFA qualifying assists chart with four – continues to play the role of conductor, while Erling Haaland continues to maintain his scoring form with a goal per game, bringing his total to 40 goals in 41 international matches.

Alexander Sorloth (Atletico Madrid) will likely join Odegaard and Haaland to form an attacking trio, while the midfield will be taken care of by Sander Berge and Patrick Berg.

The Italian side is a completely opposite picture, as they suffered many losses in terms of personnel.

Midfielder Manuel Locatelli (Juventus) withdrew due to an ankle injury, while coach Spalletti is having a headache with his defense. In particular, veteran Francesco Acerbi (Inter Milan) refused to return because he felt disrespected after Spalletti's statement about his age.

Riccardo Calafiori continues to be absent, while Alessandro Buongiorno (thigh injury) and Matteo Gabbia (calf) have also withdrawn from the squad. Daniele Rugani – a player on loan from Ajax – has been called up as a replacement and returns to the national team after 6 years.

This leaves the position of the three central defenders in front of the goal of captain goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma (who just won the Champions League with PSG) still undetermined.

Spalletti may not risk using two strikers against a strong opponent. However, he still has some bright names at his disposal: Moise Kean has just had the most impressive Serie A season of his career, Giacomo Raspadori has returned to form with Napoli, and Mateo Retegui has just won the Golden Boot.

Latest expected lineup for Norway vs Italy

Norway:
Nyland; Ryerson, Ostigard, Ajer, Wolfe; Odegaard, Berge, Berg, Schjelderup; Sorloth, Haaland

Italy:
Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Gatti, Bastoni; Cambiaso, Barella, Ricci, Tonali, Udogie; Raspadori, Kean

Latest Norway vs Italy football commentary

After winning all six points from the first two matches, Norway is leading Group I by three points – in a context where only one team has won a direct ticket to the 2026 World Cup.

Starting with a crushing 5-0 win over Moldova, coach Stale Solbakken's team continued to defeat Israel 4-2 in Hungary (neutral field match), thereby gaining a big advantage in the race in a group of only five teams.

Previously, Norway's new golden generation won promotion to League A of the UEFA Nations League, overcoming Austria and Slovenia, further strengthening the team's confidence.

Italy have just returned from their Nations League quarter-final exit, but Norway still have a great chance of finishing second in their group – which would mean a play-off spot if they don't finish top.

Norway have not qualified for the World Cup since 1998 and last played in a major tournament in 2000. However, with stars like Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard, the Nordic team are hopeful of ending this "ticket-hunger" streak.

Ahead of the crucial clash with a clear contender for the top spot, Norway know that another win in Oslo will go a long way towards taking them to the next level. However, their record against Italy is not in their favour.

Including their most recent meeting in the EURO 2016 qualifiers, the two teams have met four times in the 21st century – Italy winning three, drawing one.

Nearly 11 years after their last visit to Ullevaal (which ended in a 2-0 win), Italy will return to this venue with the task of not losing.

In their absence, Norway have built up a huge lead and a superior goal difference – a loss would deal a huge blow to Italy's hopes of avoiding the play-offs.

It is worth mentioning that the "Azzurri" have missed out on the World Cup twice – in 2018 and 2022 – despite winning the EURO between those two failures, demonstrating instability when under the pressure of expectations.

The last time Italy participated in the World Cup was in 2014 in Brazil, where they were eliminated in the group stage. That is the reason why coach Luciano Spalletti and his team are so eager to return to the biggest playground on the planet.

Since replacing Roberto Mancini, coach Spalletti has led the team to failure in the round of 16 of EURO 2024 and was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Nations League against Germany, causing fans' confidence to gradually run out.

In the return match against Germany, Italy drew 3-3 at Dortmund after being down 0-3 in the first half – a result that helped them salvage their honor but still failed to reach the semi-finals, and missed the opportunity to host the finals this June.

Now, Italy begin their new World Cup qualifying journey at the end of a long season, and immediately face the toughest opponent in the group.

Latest Norway vs Italy score prediction

Based on the above football comments, we and the world's leading football sites have given the results of the match.Norway vs Italyas follows:

• Sportsmole:Norway 2-1 Italy

• WhoScore:Norway 2-0 Italy
• Our newspaper predicts:Norway 2-1 Italy

When and where to watch Norway vs Italy live?

To watch live the Norway vs Italy match in the World Cup qualifiers taking place at 1:45 a.m. on June 7, viewers can watch onK+ Sport,K+PMor online sports channels. Wish you have fun watching football.