The forward for Manchester City and the Norwegian national team, **Erling Haaland**, shared his thoughts ahead of the World Cup 2026 qualifying match against Italy.

“I feel a tremendous responsibility to help Norway qualify for the World Cup. I’ve mentioned this numerous times. It’s a significant weight on my shoulders, and I’ve been working towards it since I joined the national team in 2019. Now we are so close that we might… I don’t know if you can call it a milestone or something else. Norway hasn’t qualified while I’ve been part of the team, and that means a lot to me. I want to reiterate that I will do everything in my power to make it happen,” Haaland said, as reported by Goal.com.

After seven qualifying matches, the Italian national team has accumulated 18 points and currently sits in second place in Group I, trailing the leading Norwegians by three points.

The reigning world champion is the Argentina national team. In the final of the 2022 tournament, Argentina faced France. The match ended 3-3 after regulation time, but Argentina emerged victorious in the penalty shootout with a score of 4-2.