PARIS: England silenced their critics with a ruthless 5-0 win over Serbia in World Cup qualifying on Tuesday, while Erling Haaland struck five as Norway crushed Moldova 11-1.
After labouring past Andorra at the weekend, Thomas Tuchel’s men delivered in Belgrade. Harry Kane opened the scoring with his 74th international goal before Noni Madueke doubled the lead.
Second-half strikes from Ezri Konsa and Marc Guehi — the latter following Nikola Milenkovic’s red card — stretched the advantage, and Marcus Rashford rounded off the rout from the spot. The result leaves England on the brink of an eighth consecutive World Cup appearance.
In Oslo, Norway maintained their perfect record in Group I with a remarkable 11-1 demolition of Moldova.
Haaland scored a first-half hat-trick before adding two more after the interval, while Thelo Aasgaard netted a rapid hat-trick off the bench. Martin Odegaard also impressed with a goal and two assists. Norway, seeking a first World Cup since 1998, lead Italy by six points having played a game more.
Elsewhere, Kylian Mbappe scored and set up Bradley Barcola as France edged Iceland 2-1 despite Aurelien Tchouameni’s dismissal.
Portugal twice came from behind to beat Hungary 3-2 in Budapest, with Cristiano Ronaldo extending his international record to 141 goals and Joao Cancelo sealing victory late on. – AFP
