The Premier League’s leading scorer, with 14 goals in 11 appearances, is also top of the goals chart in World Cup qualifiers across every continent, after taking his tally to 16 in just eight games with a brace in Sunday’s 4-1 victory over Italy.
The Manchester City forward has scored at least once in every one of those matches for Norway. Indeed, it is more than a year since he last failed to score in an international fixture.
Top goalscorers in European qualifiers for 2026 World Cup
| Player |
Nation |
Goals |
Matches |
| Erling Haaland |
Norway |
16 |
8 |
| Harry Kane |
England |
8 |
8 |
| Memphis Depay |
Netherlands |
8 |
7 |
| Marko Arnautovic |
Austria |
8 |
6 |
| Andrej Kramaric |
Croatia |
6 |
7 |
| Kevin De Bruyne |
Belgium |
6 |
6 |
| Mikel Merino |
Spain |
6 |
5 |
Haaland’s main supply line has come from Arsenal midfielder Martin Odegaard, whose seven assists put him top of the European qualifying charts.
Gabriel injury gives Arsenal concerns
A major factor in Arsenal’s club-record eight successive clean sheets was the brilliance of centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes, who has also frequently displayed his abundant attacking threat at set-pieces.
Worryingly, he departed little over an hour into Brazil’s 2-0 victory over Senegal on Saturday, after picking up a thigh injury.
That match was played at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium, and Gabriel did not then travel to France for Brazil’s second friendly against Tunisia.
Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti said: “We are really sorry for this, really disappointed. When a player has an injury, you hope they can recover well and soon.”
The extent of Gabriel’s problem is not yet known, but Arsenal next face north-London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, before welcoming Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League the following Wednesday.
Van de Ven unleashes his speed again
The 2025/26 campaign is barely a quarter of the way through, but it will take a spectacular goal to better Micky van de Ven’s incredible solo run and finish for Spurs earlier this month.
The centre-back covered almost the entire length of the pitch to score against Copenhagen in the UEFA Champions League.
Yet, for a moment on Friday, it looked as though he might repeat the trick.
Deployed at left-back for the Netherlands in their World Cup qualifier against Poland, Van de Ven won the ball barely 10 yards from his own goal line before embarking on a rapid dribble down the flank, leaving defenders trailing in his wake.
Only when he approached the Poland penalty area was he finally fouled to end his marauding run.
When asked whether he thought he could have re-created his Spurs goal, Van de Vlied: “That would have been nice, wouldn’t it? I have to say, when that guy made that [missed] sliding tackle, I thought ‘I can keep going’ but it was difficult to maintain that pace. A better goal than the last one will be tough.”
England flawless – and Spain could follow them
A Harry Kane double in a 2-0 victory over Albania on Sunday rounded off a perfect World Cup qualifying campaign for England.en rep
Having already booked their place at next summer’s tournament with two games to spare, Thomas Tuchel’s side won both of their final two matches to finish with a remarkable record of eight wins from eight games, having not conceded a single goal.
That flawless record may well be matched by Spain this week. Luis de la Fuente’s team have won all five of their qualifying games, also keeping clean sheets throughout. One more match awaits, against Turkey in Seville on Tuesday.
