Italy 'got everything wrong' in and got 'scared' of Erling Haaland & Co as Gennaro Gattuso apologises to fans for 'heavy' Norway defeat

Italy entered their decisive qualifier against Norway needing a near-impossible 9-0 victory to secure automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup. Despite the daunting task, they made a promising start when Pio Esposito opened the scoring, giving Italy a 1-0 lead that they held until half-time. However, the match dramatically shifted after the break.

Norway responded with authority as Antonio Nusa equalised, before Erling Haaland struck twice to put the visitors firmly in control. Jorgen Strand Larsen added a fourth, sealing a dominant 4-1 win for Norway at the San Siro. The result confirmed Norway’s return to the World Cup finals for the first time since 1998.

The match also saw a tense incident involving Italian defender Gianluca Mancini, who provoked Haaland, prompting the Norwegian striker to react angrily. Haaland had to be restrained by his club teammate Gianluigi Donnarumma before the situation escalated.

Manchester City goalkeeper Donnarumma commented on the loss, believing that Italy switched off in the second half when he said “the big problem was that we stopped playing in the second half.” 

He added: “It was a totally different match in the first half, we never let them out of their own half. We’ve got to do that for 95 minutes rather than 45, that is for sure.”

Earlier, Gattuso criticised the travelling supporters who protested against the Italian team after their late 2-0 win over Moldova. However, following Italy’s 4-1 loss to Norway, Gattuso apologised in the post-match press conference. He said: “We must apologise to our fans because 4-1 is a heavy defeat. It's a shame because we had a very good first half, where we played as a real team.

“There were two games. In the first half, the team played very well, We lacked distance, we were more compact in the first half, we never gave them any space.

“In the second half, we struggled enormously. We gave our opponents space, we let them into our area.

“There is a lot of disappointment. The lads deserved a different evening, but instead we got everything wrong and they hurt us.”

Gattuso also pointed to the turning point of the match, noting that Norway’s goal immediately after  the restart created fear. He said: “The game changed when they had their first shot on goal in the first 30 seconds of the second half.

“In the second half we conceded a goal after 30 seconds [two goals within 30 seconds] and then our fragility came to the fore.”

He then outlined how Italy must improve ahead of the play off in March 2026. He said “Matches last 95 minutes, and in this one our flaws came to the fore. If we concede a few goals, we start to panic. We'll face up to it, take responsibility, and in March we'll need 95 minutes like the first half. There's not much time between now and March, we need to work on our weaknesses.”

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For Italy, the defeat means they must once again face the pressure of the play offs. The Azzurri will learn their path to the 2026 World Cup when the European play off draw takes place on Thursday, and they are assured of being one of the top seeds. Despite this advantage, the stakes remain high. Italy have not appeared in a World Cup since 2014, suffering painful play off exits to Sweden in 2018 and North Macedonia in 2022. The upcoming play offs therefore represent a crucial opportunity for the national team to finally return to the sport’s biggest stage and end over a decade of absence.

Gattuso will use the coming months to carefully assess the team’s strengths and weaknesses, aiming to develop tactical solutions that give the Azzurri the best chance of returning to the World Cup.