IFFHS WORLD STATS - WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS
Picture : Erling Haaland became the first ever European to score in 11 consecutive games for his national team.
Statistics on WC 2026 qualifiers (16 November)
Italy vs Norway 1-4
*Norway are just the 2nd team to defeat Italy as visitors in the history of World Cup Qualifying, after North Macedonia (1-0 in March 2022).
*Italy equalled their worst home defeat in a competitive match (0-3 against Sweden on 15 October 1983, a Euro qualifier).
*The last visiting team to score 4 goals against Italy was Yugoslavia in a friendly match played in Turin on 29 May 1955 (4-0).
*Erling Haaland is the 2nd visiting player to score a brace vs Italy in the history of World Cup Qualifying, after Belarusian Maxym Romashenko (on 13 October 2004).
*Haaland became the first ever European to score in 11 consecutive games for his national team.
“The Cyborg” tied the world record set by a Malaysian Abdul Ghani Minhat between May 1961 and August 1962.
*Francesco Pio Esposito scored his third goal for Italy at 20 years 141 days). Only 3 players in Italy’s history did it being younger:
Giuseppe Meazza (19 years 191 days),
Mario Corso (20 years 71 days),
Gianni Rivera (20 years 84 days).
Hungary vs Republic of Ireland 2-3
*Troy Parrott became the first ever Republic of Ireland's player to score a hat-trick away from home.
*This is the first ever away hat trick in the Republic of Ireland's history secured with a winner in the dying seconds.
*Troy Parrott is the 4th Republic of Ireland player to score multiple goals in back-to-back games (he scored a brace in the last game vs Portugal, 2-0), after:
Jimmy Dunne in 1936,
Robbie Keane in 2013,
Callum Robinson in 2021.
Portugal vs Armenia 9-1
*Portugal equalled their all-time record for most goals in a single game (9-0 vs Luxembourg in September 2023).
*For the 3rd time, two Portugal players (João Neves and Bruno Fernandes) scored a hat-trick in same game, after:
Ricardo Sá Pinto and João Vieira Pinto against Liechtenstein in 1999,
Pauleta and Nuno Gomes against Kuwait in 2003.
*Armenia equalled their anti-record for most goals conceded in a game, after:
1-9 defeat vs Italy on 18 November 2019 (Euro qualifier),
0-9 defeat vs Armenia on 29 March 2022 (friendly).
Albania vs England 0-2
*England have won their 11 consecutive competitive game: the longest such run in their history.
*England became the second European team to win all their games (8) in a World Cup qualifying campaign without conceding, after
Yugoslavia (the edition of 1954, 4 games).
*England have kept 10 clean sheets in a row in competitive matches, tying Spain's European record (from 2014 to 2016).
Azerbaijan vs France 1-3
*France have won a match after trailing away from home for the first time since 10 September 2013, in Belarus (4-2).
*France are unbeaten in their last 29 World Cup and Euro qualifying matches (23 wins, 6 draws); the run started since a defeat against Turkey on 8 June 2019 (0-2).
*France fielded two completely different starting lineups in back-to-back games for the first time since June-August 2010 (in matches against South Africa, 1-2, and Norway, 1-2, at Laurent Blanc's debut as the France’s coach).
*France started a match without a single player who has scored more than two goals for Les Bleus; this happened for the first time since 9 June 2011, against Poland.
*Jean-Philippe Mateta becames the first player to score in each of his first two starts for France since Louis Saha in May 2004.
*Lucas Chevalier is the fastest goalkeeper to concede his first goal after his debut for Les Bleus (in 4th minute) in 90 years, since René Llense on 17 February 1935 (against Italy).
Other France’s goalkeepers to have conceded in the starting 4 minutes of the debut appearance:
Charles Berthelot (1st),
Raymond Frémont (3rd),
Jean Loubière (4th),
Alexis Thépot (4th).