Erling Haaland stole the show as Norway thrashed Moldova 11-1, while Cristiano Ronaldo matched a World Cup qualifying record in Portugal’s victory over Hungary.
Haaland was unstoppable in Oslo, leading a dominant Group I performance that kept Norway’s perfect record intact after five games.
He completed his fifth international hat trick by halftime, scoring three times between the 11th and 43rd minutes, and added two more in the second half to extend his remarkable tally to 48 goals in 45 caps.
Rangers midfielder Thelo Aasgaard made an instant impact, netting four goals after coming on in the 64th minute, while Felix Horn Myhre and captain Martin Odegaard also found the net.
Moldova’s solitary goal came courtesy of Norway’s Leo Ostigard, who inadvertently turned the ball into his own net.
Forty-year-old Ronaldo also had a day to remember, notching his 39th goal in World Cup qualifying, equaling the mark set by Carlos Ruiz of Guatemala.
Ronaldo stepped up for a 58th-minute penalty with the score at 1-1 and converted, playing his part in a 3-2 victory in Hungary.
Barnabas Varga put the home side ahead at Puskas Arena before Bernardo Silva leveled. Varga struck again to equalize in the 84th minute, but Joao Cancelo scored the winner to keep Portugal atop Group F after two games.
Armenia sprung a surprise in the group’s other match, defeating the Republic of Ireland 2-1.
Eduard Spertsyan, who fired Armenia to victory over Ireland in another shock win three years ago, and Grant-Leon Ranos added a second soon after the restart. Evan Ferguson pulled one back, but it was not enough to prevent a costly loss.
France had to come from behind to see off Iceland 2-1 at Parc des Princes and stay atop Group D. Andri Gudjohnsen put the visitors in front after 21 minutes, only for Kylian Mbappe’s penalty to restore parity just before the break. Bradley Barcola put France ahead, and they held on despite Aurelien Tchouameni’s red card leaving them a man short for the final 22 minutes.
Azerbaijan claimed a 1-1 draw against Ukraine in Baku. Midfielder Heorhiy Sudakov, who said this week his family home in Kyiv had been damaged by a Russian drone attack, put the visitors ahead when he swept home a low shot in the 51st minute. But a handball from Oleksandr Zinchenko opened the door, and Emin Mahmudov converted with 18 minutes remaining as both sides took their first point of the campaign.
England enjoyed a morale-boosting 5-0 win over Serbia to kickstart Thomas Tuchel’s tenure, while Kristjan Asllani scored the only goal as Albania beat Latvia in the other Group K fixture.
In Group H, Austria went level on points with Bosnia-Herzegovina after beating them 2-1 in Zenica, while Romania drew 2-2 in Cyprus.
