On Friday, 6 June, one of the defining matches in World Cup qualification will take place. Norway and Italy are considered the main rivals in Group I but there is a curious nuance: the Italians have not yet played a single match, while the North Koreans have already won two meetings. In this regard, now a win at home can give Norway the green light to the World Cup. The other opponents are too weak: Israel, Estonia and Moldova.

Norway is insanely motivated. The team hasn't been to a major tournament since 2000. In the first rounds the Norwegians easily coped with Moldova and Israel. In total, they loaded their opponents with nine goals. Before that, the Norwegians won their group in the Nations League.

Norway have no serious losses. Erling Holand, Alexander Sørloth and Martin Edegaard will lead the attack. In attack, Norway have the advantage in terms of names, but still the average squad is inferior to Italy.

Norway hasn't had a match against a top team in a very long time. At the same time, it did not work out with Austria in the Nations League: the team managed to lose 1:5.

Italy, led by Luciano Spalletti, is building a new national team after the failure at Euros. In the framework of Euro 2024 there was a surprising embarrassment against Switzerland. Then the Swiss easily dismantled the Italians in the playoffs. Obviously, Spalletti's team made conclusions. Already after that, several bright victories were registered in the Nations League. In particular, were able to beat France away and Belgium also away. In the play-offs we lost to Germany, but did not give up at 0:3, restoring equality, at least in the second match. In other words, it was a very decent campaign with a bid for a promising future.

Italy could be in trouble because of a serious core of Inter players. Alessandro Bastoni, Federico Dimarco, Nicolo Barella are key players for the national team. All are in a very difficult state of mind after the defeat by PSG in the Champions League. There is very little time for recovery. It is possible that Spalletti will even abandon the leaders in this match or use players in rotation.

Bookmakers believe in Norway. Italy is not considered a favourite in this meeting. Norway has not yet shown itself as a national team capable of beating the grands. A draw will strategically be a good result for the two teams. Norway will keep a reserve of six points and will try to put pressure on an unstable opponent with victories over outsiders. Italy, on the other hand, are hardly capable of playing first choice on such an away trip. At the same time, open football is unlikely. The match is too important for the overall outcome of qualification.