Erling Haaland Misses Two Penalties but Scores Hat-Trick as Norway Crush Israel 5–0

Erling Haaland experienced a rare moment of fallibility — yet still emerged as the hero. Early in the match, Norway was awarded a penalty after Patrick Berg was fouled.

Haaland stepped up, but his initial attempt was saved by Israel’s goalkeeper Daniel Peretz. However, the referee intervened, calling for the penalty to be retaken on the grounds that Peretz had advanced off his line prematurely. Haaland’s second effort was again denied, as the goalkeeper guessed correctly and palmed the shot away.

While the penalty saga provided tension, the game soon tilted emphatically in Norway’s favor. In the 18th minute, Alexander Sørloth broke down the flank and delivered a low cross that took a deflection off Israel’s Anan Khalaili and looped into the net — giving the hosts a fortunate but crucial opening goal.

Norway doubled the lead in the 27th minute when Haaland redeemed his penalty misses by finishing a low drive from inside the box, after linking up with Sørloth. Just a minute later, Israel’s defense collapsed — a miscommunication between Peretz and defender Idan Nachmias resulted in another own goal, putting Norway 3–0 up before halftime.

In the second half, Haaland continued his resurgence. In the 63rd minute, he connected with a cross from Antonio Nusa to head home his second of the night, marking his 50th goal for Norway. Nine minutes later, he completed his hat trick by guiding another header past Peretz, sealing a comprehensive 5–0 win.

Final score: Norway 5–0 Israel

Goal scorers: Alexander Sørloth, Erling Haaland (27′, 63′, 72′), and two own goals from Anan Khalaili and Idan Nachmias.

This victory keeps Norway unbeaten in qualifying, as Haaland’s efforts further cement his status as the country’s all-time leading scorer.