Erling Haaland helped Norway make a positive start to its World Cup qualifying campaign by scoring in a 5-0 rout at Moldova on Saturday.

Norway’s third and last World Cup appearance was back in 1998, two years before Haaland was born.

Now, Haaland leads a team featuring Arsenal midfielder Martin Ødegaard that bears high expectations of reaching the 2026 tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

The Scandinavian side is favored to win Group I, which also includes Estonia and Israel.

Haaland scored Norway’s second goal against the outmatched Moldova. That took his exceptional career haul to 39 goals in 40 appearances for his country since his 2019 debut.

Dortmund defender Julian Ryerson opened the scoring for Norway five minutes after kickoff in Chisinau. Haaland doubled the lead in the 23rd. Thelo Aasgaard, who assisted Ryerson for the opener, made it three before Ødegaard set up Alexander Sørloth before half-time. Substitute Aron Donnum got on the scoreboard in the second half.

Haaland already knows what it is to win the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup with Manchester City, but he has yet to take his country to a major tournament.

Injury ruled Haaland out of several matches during Norway’s unsuccessful qualifying campaign for the 2022 World Cup. The talented Norway team likewise failed to qualify for the 2024 European Championship when it disappointed with a third-place group finish behind Spain and Scotland.