Norway's national soccer team (29th in FIFA ranking) defeated Italy (9th in FIFA ranking) 4-1 in the eighth match of Group I of the final European qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in San Siro, Milan, Italy on the 17th.

This marks the first time in 28 years that Norway has qualified for the World Cup finals since the 1998 France World Cup. Italy, on the other hand, is headed for the playoffs. In Europe, the No. 1 ranking team in each group will be qualified for the finals, while the 12 teams ranking second in each group will play the top four Nations League teams among the third ranking teams, with a total of 16 countries participating in the playoffs. Four teams will play in four groups. The No. 1 ranking team in each group will head to the finals.

The home team Italy took the lead first. Francesco Esposito scored the first goal in the 11th minute of the first half. However, the team failed to keep the lead. Italy began to crumble due to Norway's counterattack. Antonio Nusa equalized in the 18th minute of the second half to bring the game back to square one.

Norway, which succeeded in rebounding, had a goal party. In the 32nd minute of the second half, Holan scored a come-from-behind goal, and a minute later, he scored his own multi-goal and his team's third goal, widening the gap. Norway won 4-1 in extra time in the second half, adding a netting by Järgen Strand Larsen.

With multiple goals, Holan scored 16 goals in eight final qualifying matches in Europe, making him the top scorer in the entire continent. He scored multiple goals in all matches. He also scored multiple goals in the final match against Italy.

On the day, Holan even got into an argument with Italian defender Gianluca Mancini during the match. Eventually, even Italian goalkeeper and Manchester City teammate Gianluca Donnarumma stopped them. After the match, Holan said, "Collision during the match? Mancini started to touch my butt from when the score was 1 to 1. I wondered what I was doing."

"Then I got a little angry and said to him, 'Thank you very much for the motivation. Yeah, let's give it a try!' Then I scored two goals, and we won 4-1. I want to say thank you very much to Mancini."

For the first time in 28 years, Holan brought Norway to the finals. "This is probably the biggest win I've ever had for the national team. Winning 4-1 away to Italy is a huge outcome," he said with a big smile.

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