2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group I

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The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group I was one of the twelve UEFA groups in the World Cup qualification tournament to decide which teams would qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup final tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States. [1] Group I consisted of five teams: Estonia, Israel, Italy, Moldova and Norway. The teams played against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format from March to November 2025. However, as Italy were involved in the Nations League A quarter-finals in March, they began their qualifying campaign in June 2025.

Contents

The group winners, Norway, qualified directly for the World Cup finals, while the runners-up, Italy, advanced to the second round (play-offs).

Standings

PosTeam
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification Flag of Norway.svg Flag of Italy.svg Flag of Israel.svg Flag of Estonia.svg Flag of Moldova.svg
1Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 8800375+3224Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup — 3–0 5–0 4–1 11–1
2Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 86022112+918Advance to play-offs 1–4 — 3–0 5–0 2–0
3Flag of Israel.svg  Israel 84041920−112 2–4 4–5 — 2–1 4–1
4Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia 8116821−134 0–1 1–3 1–3 — 1–1
5Flag of Moldova.svg  Moldova 8017532−271 0–5 0–2 0–4 2–3 —
Source: FIFA, UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Matches

The fixture list was confirmed by UEFA on 13 December 2024 following the draw. [2] [3] [4] Times are CET/CEST, [note 1] as listed by UEFA (local times, if different, are in parentheses).

Moldova  Flag of Moldova.svg0–5Flag of Norway.svg  Norway
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Zimbru Stadium, Chișinău
Attendance: 9,342 [5]
Referee: Matej Jug (Slovenia)
Israel  Flag of Israel.svg2–1Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Nagyerdei Stadion, Debrecen (Hungary) [note 2]
Attendance: 270 [7]
Referee: Nikola Dabanović (Montenegro)
Moldova  Flag of Moldova.svg2–3Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Zimbru Stadium, Chișinău
Attendance: 6,112 [8]
Referee: Lawrence Visser (Belgium)
Israel  Flag of Israel.svg2–4Flag of Norway.svg  Norway
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Nagyerdei Stadion, Debrecen (Hungary) [note 2]
Attendance: 1,200 [9]
Referee: Chris Kavanagh (England)
Estonia  Flag of Estonia.svg1–3Flag of Israel.svg  Israel
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Lilleküla Stadium, Tallinn
Attendance: 5,967 [10]
Referee: Willy Delajod (France)
Norway  Flag of Norway.svg3–0Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo
Attendance: 25,796 [11]
Referee: José María Sánchez Martínez (Spain)
Estonia  Flag of Estonia.svg0–1Flag of Norway.svg  Norway
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Lilleküla Stadium, Tallinn
Attendance: 11,577 [12]
Referee: Srđan Jovanović (Serbia)
Italy  Flag of Italy.svg2–0Flag of Moldova.svg  Moldova
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Mapei Stadium, Reggio Emilia
Attendance: 18,771 [13]
Referee: Urs Schnyder (Switzerland)
Moldova  Flag of Moldova.svg0–4Flag of Israel.svg  Israel
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Zimbru Stadium, Chișinău
Attendance: 7,242 [14]
Referee: John Beaton (Scotland)
Italy  Flag of Italy.svg5–0Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia, Bergamo
Attendance: 22,559 [15]
Referee: João Pinheiro (Portugal)
Israel  Flag of Israel.svg4–5Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Nagyerdei Stadion, Debrecen (Hungary) [note 2]
Attendance: 2,540 [16]
Referee: Slavko Vinčić (Slovenia)
Norway  Flag of Norway.svg11–1Flag of Moldova.svg  Moldova
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo
Attendance: 24,605 [18]
Referee: Balázs Berke (Hungary)
Norway  Flag of Norway.svg5–0Flag of Israel.svg  Israel
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo
Attendance: 19,363 [19]
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland)
Estonia  Flag of Estonia.svg1–3Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Lilleküla Stadium, Tallinn
Attendance: 11,913 [20]
Referee: Serdar Gözübüyük (Netherlands)
Estonia  Flag of Estonia.svg1–1Flag of Moldova.svg  Moldova
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Lilleküla Stadium, Tallinn
Attendance: 4,731 [21]
Referee: Igor Pajač (Croatia)
Italy  Flag of Italy.svg3–0Flag of Israel.svg  Israel
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Stadio Friuli, Udine
Attendance: 9,965 [22]
Referee: Clément Turpin (France)
Norway  Flag of Norway.svg4–1Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo
Attendance: 25,493 [23]
Referee: Matej Jug (Slovenia)
Moldova  Flag of Moldova.svg0–2Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Zimbru Stadium, Chișinău
Attendance: 9,526 [24]
Referee: Mykola Balakin (Ukraine)
Israel  Flag of Israel.svg4–1Flag of Moldova.svg  Moldova
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Zimbru Stadium, Chișinău (Moldova) [note 2]
Attendance: 3,312 [25]
Referee: Allard Lindhout (Netherlands)
Italy  Flag of Italy.svg1–4Flag of Norway.svg  Norway
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
San Siro, Milan
Attendance: 69,020 [26]
Referee: Alejandro Hernández Hernández (Spain)

Goalscorers

There were 90 goals scored in 20 matches, for an average of 4.5 goals per match.

16 goals

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Discipline

A player or team official was automatically suspended for the next match for the following offences: [27]

The following suspensions were served during the qualifying matches: [28]

TeamPlayerOffence(s)Suspended for match(es)
Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia Markus Soomets Yellow card.svg Yellow-red card.svg vs Israel (22 March 2025)vs Moldova (25 March 2025)
Kevor Palumets Yellow card.svg Yellow-red card.svg vs Moldova (25 March 2025)vs Israel (6 June 2025)
Rasmus Peetson Yellow card.svg vs Israel (22 March 2025)
Yellow card.svg vs Moldova (25 March 2025)		vs Israel (6 June 2025)
Henri Anier Yellow card.svg vs Israel (22 March 2025)
Yellow card.svg vs Italy (5 September 2025)		vs Italy (11 October 2025)
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Alessandro Bastoni Yellow card.svg vs Estonia (5 September 2025)
Yellow card.svg vs Estonia (11 October 2025)		vs Israel (14 October 2025)
Nicolò Barella Yellow card.svg vs Estonia (11 October 2025)
Yellow card.svg vs Israel (14 October 2025)		vs Moldova (13 November 2025)
Flag of Moldova.svg  Moldova Maxim Cojocaru Red card.svg vs Estonia (25 March 2025)vs Italy (9 June 2025)
Vadim Rață Yellow card.svg vs Norway (22 March 2025)
Yellow card.svg vs Estonia (25 March 2025)		vs Italy (9 June 2025)
Ion Nicolaescu Yellow card.svg vs Estonia (25 March 2025)
Yellow card.svg vs Italy (9 June 2025)		vs Israel (5 September 2025)
Vladislav Baboglo Yellow card.svg vs Estonia (25 March 2025)
Yellow card.svg vs Estonia (14 October 2025)		vs Italy (13 November 2025)

Notes

  1. ↑ CET (UTC+1) for matches until 29 March and from 26 October (matchday 1–2 and 9–10), and CEST (UTC+2) for matches from 30 March to 25 October 2025 (matchday 3–8).
  2. 1 2 3 4 Due to the Gaza war, Israel were required to play their home matches at neutral venues until further notice. [6]
  3. ↑ The Norway v Moldova match, originally scheduled for 8 September 2025, [3] was moved to the following day due to the 2025 Norwegian parliamentary election. [17]

References

  1. ↑ "Draw Procedures for the UEFA Preliminary Draw for the FIFA World Cup 26" (PDF). FIFA. 28 November 2024. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  2. ↑ "European Qualifiers for 2026 World Cup: All the fixtures and results". UEFA. 14 December 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  3. 1 2 "European Qualifiers 2024–26 (FIFA World Cup Preliminary Competition) – Group stage fixtures by matchday" (PDF). UEFA. 13 December 2024. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  4. ↑ "European Qualifiers 2024–26 (FIFA World Cup Preliminary Competition) – Group stage fixtures by group" (PDF). UEFA. 14 December 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  5. ↑ "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Moldova v Norway" (PDF). UEFA. 22 March 2025. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
  6. ↑ "European Qualifier match between Belgium and Sweden declared abandoned with half-time result confirmed as final". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 19 October 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  7. ↑ "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Israel v Estonia" (PDF). UEFA. 22 March 2025. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
  8. ↑ "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Moldova v Estonia" (PDF). UEFA. 25 March 2025. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  9. ↑ "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Israel v Norway" (PDF). UEFA. 25 March 2025. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  10. ↑ "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Estonia v Israel" (PDF). UEFA. 6 June 2025. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  11. ↑ "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Norway v Italy" (PDF). UEFA. 6 June 2025. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  12. ↑ "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Estonia v Norway" (PDF). UEFA. 9 June 2025. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  13. ↑ "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Italy v Moldova" (PDF). UEFA. 9 June 2025. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  14. ↑ "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Moldova v Israel" (PDF). UEFA. 5 September 2025. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  15. ↑ "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Italy v Estonia" (PDF). UEFA. 5 September 2025. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  16. ↑ "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Israel v Italy" (PDF). UEFA. 8 September 2025. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  17. ↑ Schjesvold, Fredrik; Monge Hugsted, Christian (29 January 2025). "Vil avverge kaosdag og flytte landskamp" [Avert a day of chaos and move international match]. Dagbladet (in Norwegian). Oslo. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
  18. ↑ "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Norway v Moldova" (PDF). UEFA. 9 September 2025. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  19. ↑ "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Norway v Israel" (PDF). UEFA. 11 October 2025. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  20. ↑ "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Estonia v Italy" (PDF). UEFA. 11 October 2025. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  21. ↑ "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Estonia v Moldova" (PDF). UEFA. 14 October 2025. Retrieved 14 October 2025.
  22. ↑ "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Italy v Israel" (PDF). UEFA. 14 October 2025. Retrieved 14 October 2025.
  23. ↑ "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Norway v Estonia" (PDF). UEFA. 13 November 2025. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  24. ↑ "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Moldova v Italy" (PDF). UEFA. 13 November 2025. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  25. ↑ "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Israel v Moldova" (PDF). UEFA. 16 November 2025. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
  26. ↑ "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Italy v Norway" (PDF). UEFA. 16 November 2025. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
  27. ↑ "Regulations: FIFA World Cup 2026 Preliminary Competition" (PDF). FIFA. June 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  28. ↑ "FIFA World Cup 2026: Booking List before European Qualifiers Matchday 10" (PDF). UEFA. 17 November 2025. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 November 2025. Retrieved 18 November 2025.
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