Haaland helps Norway start its World Cup qualifying campaign with 5-0 rout

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 Odegaard 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 saw Israel beat Estonia 2-1 in the opening round.

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 Odegaard set up Alexander Sorloth before halftime. 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.

Wales beat Kazakhstan 3-1 in Cardiff as the British team seeks a second straight World Cup appearance. Also in Group J, North Macedonia won 3-0 at Liechtenstein.

Czech Republic’s Patrik Schick scored twice in a 2-1 win over Faroe Islands in Group L, where Montenegro fought back for a 3-1 win over Gibraltar.

Europe will have 16 teams in the expanded 48-team field for next year's World Cup in North America.

They will come from the winners of the 12 qualifying groups plus four from a playoff of the group runners-up.

The group stage of European qualifying runs through November.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Norway's Alexander Sorloth celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during a Group I, World Cup qualifier soccer match between Moldova and Norway at the Zimbru stadium in Chisinau, Moldova, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurel Obreja)

Norway's Erling Haaland scores his side's second goal during a Group I, World Cup qualifier soccer match between Moldova and Norway at the Zimbru stadium in Chisinau, Moldova, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurel Obreja)

Norway's Alexander Sorloth, right, scores his side's second goal during a Group I, World Cup qualifier soccer match between Moldova and Norway at the Zimbru stadium in Chisinau, Moldova, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurel Obreja)

A Norway fan cheers during a Group I, World Cup qualifier soccer match between Moldova and Norway at the Zimbru stadium in Chisinau, Moldova, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurel Obreja)

Norway's Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during a Group I, World Cup qualifier soccer match between Moldova and Norway at the Zimbru stadium in Chisinau, Moldova, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurel Obreja)

Norway's players celebrate their side's first goal scored by Norway's Julian Ryerson during a Group I, World Cup qualifier soccer match between Moldova and Norway at the Zimbru stadium in Chisinau, Moldova, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurel Obreja)

Norway's Erling Haaland, left, celebrates with teammates their side's first goal scored by Julian Ryerson during a Group I, World Cup qualifier soccer match between Moldova and Norway at the Zimbru stadium in Chisinau, Moldova, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurel Obreja)

Norway's players huddle before a Group I, World Cup qualifier soccer match between Moldova and Norway at the Zimbru stadium in Chisinau, Moldova, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurel Obreja)

Norway's Erling Haaland follows the ball with Moldova's Vladislav Baboglo during a Group I, World Cup qualifier soccer match between Moldova and Norway at the Zimbru stadium in Chisinau, Moldova, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurel Obreja)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump on Sunday fired off another warning to the government of Cuba as the close ally of Venezuela braces for potential widespread unrest after Nicolás Maduro was deposed as Venezuela's leader.

Cuba, a major beneficiary of Venezuelan oil, has now been cut off from those shipments as U.S. forces continue to seize tankers in an effort to control the production, refining and global distribution of the country's oil products.

Trump said on social media that Cuba long lived off Venezuelan oil and money and had offered security in return, “BUT NOT ANYMORE!”

“THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA - ZERO!” Trump said in the post as he spent the weekend at his home in southern Florida. “I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.” He did not explain what kind of deal.

The Cuban government said 32 of its military personnel were killed during the American operation last weekend that captured Maduro. The personnel from Cuba’s two main security agencies were in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, as part of an agreement between Cuba and Venezuela.

“Venezuela doesn’t need protection anymore from the thugs and extortionists who held them hostage for so many years,” Trump said Sunday. “Venezuela now has the United States of America, the most powerful military in the World (by far!), to protect them, and protect them we will.”

Trump also responded to another account’s social media post predicting that his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, will be president of Cuba: “Sounds good to me!” Trump said.

Trump and top administration officials have taken an increasingly aggressive tone toward Cuba, which had been kept economically afloat by Venezuela. Long before Maduro's capture, severe blackouts were sidelining life in Cuba, where people endured long lines at gas stations and supermarkets amid the island’s worst economic crisis in decades.

Trump has said previously that the Cuban economy, battered by years of a U.S. embargo, would slide further with the ouster of Maduro.

“It’s going down,” Trump said of Cuba. “It’s going down for the count.”

A person watches the oil tanker Ocean Mariner, Monrovia, arrive to the bay in Havana, Cuba, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

President Donald Trump attends a meeting with oil executives in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)