European World Cup Qualifying Group I: Italy prepares for play-offs, Norway needs new penalty kicker

The penultimate round of Group I of the European World Cup preliminaries will continue in the early morning of November 14. Italy is almost certain to play in the play-offs. In order to increase his confidence, Gattuso must maintain the mathematical possibility of direct promotion and be in the best condition to meet the challenge from Norway in the last round. Judging from his performance in the past two seasons, Haaland seems to be really not good at taking penalty kicks. The angle and height of his penalty kicks have almost remained unchanged, and his hit rate is not high. Both Norway and Manchester City need to find new takers.

Haaland becomes less and less confident in taking penalty kicks

Moldova VS Italy – Morale is also very important

Although Moldova’s club team Sharif has become somewhat famous in European football in recent years, their national team is stuck in a state of stagnation. It has been hard to win a win in two consecutive World Cup qualifiers and is still at the bottom of the group. It seems that the situation will not get better this time. They and San Marino are the only two teams to concede double digits in a single game, and Moldova conceded 11 goals against Norway, one more than San Marino.

This World Cup qualifier is a nightmare for Moldova

When Italy lost 0-3 to Norway in their first World Cup qualifier in early June, fans must have known about the Azzurri. It's time to play the play-offs again. After all, Italy has never been a team good at winning on goal difference. When Norway scored 11 goals against Moldova, the Blues fans' hearts dropped, and they began to study who would become potential play-off opponents.

In the last round against Israel at home, Italy was no longer as careless as in the first round, and finally defeated their opponent 3-0. However, they still trailed Norway by a goal difference of 16 goals. Even if they pulled one back against Norway at home, there is a high probability that they will not be able to get first place in the group and qualify directly. The tasks of the remaining two group matches are to fine-tune the lineup and defeat Norway. If the goal difference is not enough, at least regain morale.

Italy's current strength is indeed not enough to advance directly.

The atmosphere was very embarrassing when Italy played against Moldova in the first round. Before the game, Spalletti had announced to the outside world that he was fired, but he still managed to finish the game. In the end, Italy's 2-0 victory looked very embarrassing. Now that Italy at least has no mental problems, Gattuso will lead the players to pursue a big victory. Italy is expected to play 30% of its strength in the away game and suppress the opponent's offensive power.

Norway VS Estonia – Haaland is not suitable for penalty kicks?

The Norwegian team, which has not qualified for the World Cup in 27 years, has been extremely hungry from the beginning of the qualifying rounds. Their goal in every game is to try to win the goal difference and minimize the possibility of accidents. Now one of their feet has gone to the United States, Canada and Mexico, and the other foot is also on the promotion line, but everything will not be settled until the final round of the game against Italy.

In the last round, they faced Israel at home. Although Haaland missed another penalty kick, Norway still scored 5 goals with its suffocating pressure. Haaland then performed a hat trick, and the opponent was forced to score two own goals. Last weekend against Liverpool, Haaland missed a penalty kick again. In the past six times, his hit rate was only 50%. Judging from the distribution map, Haaland's penalty kicks always choose the safest left and right ground rolls, and the angles are not tricky. It seems that he really has no confidence in taking penalty kicks. Both Manchester City and Norway need to find new penalty kickers.

It is almost certain that Norway will advance directly to the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Estonia's strength is in the middle and lower reaches of Europe. For them, winning in the World Cup preliminaries will complete the task. They have already defeated Moldova in this World Cup preliminaries. The other three teams are too strong for them, and it is not surprising that they all suffered double defeats. In the last round of home game against Moldova, Estonia failed to complete a double play, which was somewhat regretful.

It is a pity that Estonia failed to defeat Moldova at home

In this game against Estonia, Norwegian coach Solbakken should control Harland's playing time. After all, the devil's recent game in Manchester City has been too heavy, and there is also the final round of the decisive battle with Italy. Harland needs to try his best to avoid injuries. Even if Haaland does not start, Norway still has Atletico Madrid forward Sorlot, who is also ranked in the top five in the history of the Norwegian national team. It is more than enough to deal with Estonia. Norway is expected to play 30% of its strength at home, while Estonia is 10%.