The Euro XI: Erling Haaland continues to smash records with Norway, Bukayo Saka is on fire for England, and Kevin De Bruyne and Belgium appear to be deeply flawed

Stop us if you've heard this one before: Erling Haaland is good at scoring goals. It's funny because while his Man City numbers get picked apart, Haaland is the most successful international goalscorer in this game's history (not an overstatement).

He missed two(!!) penalties against Israel on Saturday, but still scored a hat-trick to carry Norway to a 5-0 win. He has now scored 51 goals in 46 matches for his country. For perspective, it took Messi 107 to hit that mark for Argentina. Now that's just silly.

What does a Thomas Tuchel England look like? It's still a confusing thing, seeing this gangly German fella manage a country that, well, doesn't seem to like him. European rivalries aside, though, Tuchel is an immensely talented coach who has shown, in his year in charge, that he might be the key to end many, many years of hurt.

Crucially, he has gotten the best out of Bukayo Saka, who ran the show for the Three Lions in a 3-0 pounding of Wales. The only issue? Apparently, the England fans were a little quiet. Whatever. 

Point to the Faroe Islands on a map - we dare you. Every now and then, major tournament qualification yields a shock story - some country no one ever associates with soccer making a run. Faroe Islands might yet be this tournament's European darlings. 

They are ranked No. 136 in the world, and after beating Czechia, 2-1, are still in with a shout of qualification. Their only obstacle? Undefeated Croatia next month. Believe. 

Belgium are in a weird spot. The supposed "golden generation" never won anything, and they're now stuck in this post-promising haze, never bad but not really contenders, either. The result, thus far, has been a bunch of confusing scorelines. And even with a fully fit and firing Kevin De Bruyne, they didn't do enough to beat a scrappy North Macedonia, who may yet qualify. Puzzling stuff. 

It's clear now: Italy sacrificed their footballing future when they won Euro 2020. That was it. They enjoyed their moment of magic in full, going on an unexpected run to beat the hosts, England, in the final. Since then, it's been a story of struggle.

And they're in danger of making it tricky for themselves once again. They might have beaten Estonia in remarkably unconvincing fashion, but lose to Israel (possible) and they could slip into another playoff. Anything can happen there.

It's puzzling that the Netherlands haven't enjoyed any major tournament success in recent years. They have, as per usual, generated droves of wonderful footballers, including one of the best centerbacks to ever play the game. But something is always a little off - they can't quite piece a full run together.

Well, the signs are good in qualifying. They battered Finland on Sunday, leaving their qualifying record at five wins, one draw, 22 goals scored and three conceded. Could this be their time?

Scott McTominay is the reigning Serie A Player of the Year. That should be enough to carry Scotland to a major tournament, right? Well, it's not so simple. This Scotland side has a few top players, but some pretty obvious holes. The result? An admittedly rocky qualification slate.

That continued on Sunday, when they scraped a win over a poor Belarus side. Andy Robertson admitted that the win "didn't feel good" - such was the lackluster showing. Still, it just about locked up second place, and a spot in the World Cup next year.

This is everyone's favorite thing at every World Cup: watch out for Turkey, they're dark horses. It's a fascinating part of the soccer psyche. There are so many smart people in this sport, and we all just come together in one hive mind to decide that Turkey are our favorite team.

Well, that might just be true. In Arda Guler and Kenan Yildiz they have two world-class talents. They are going to be a tough side for anyone to face, and battered Bulgaria, 6-1. Watch this space (book the round of 16 exit). 

It's always a little bit funny to see Cristiano Ronaldo miss a penalty. It just doesn't fit in with the try-hard routine. He breathes, he stutters, he smashes the ball. Goalies aren't supposed to save these things from him. But they do every now and then.

Caoimhin Kelleher equalled one of his efforts last week, and it seemed enough to grant Ireland a deserved a point. But then Ruben Neves swept in with a stoppage time header to save Roberto Martinez's side. They won't be an easy out next summer.

So, here's a weird sentence: the battle between Hungary and Armenia for the second placed spot in Group F of the European World Cup Qualification is pretty compelling. The Hungarians have talent at top sides, and are headlined by Liverpool star Dominik Szoboszlai.

But Armenia are tricky, resilient, and tough. Hungary won 2-0 last weekend, and both might drop enough points elsewhere to make this otherwise routine looking victory mightily important.  

And then we have France. It is hard to overstate how good these guys are. Kylian Mbappe picked up a knock against Azerbaijan and his side played at half speed, but they still won 3-0. That made the game with Iceland Monday seem routine. So much for that. The Euro 2016 darlings scraped a 2-2 draw with the World Cup faves. Perhaps they're vulnerable, after all.