Will the Scandinavians stay on course for the World Cup?
Only three times in history has a Norwegian team qualified for a World Cup. The last time the Scandinavians took part in the World Cup finals was in France in 1998. Now there are increasing signs that 2026 will see the Landslaget make a comeback on the biggest stage possible. With 15 out of a possible 15 points, Stale Solbakken’s team leads Group I of the European qualifying round. If Norway beats Israel at home, it would be the next big step toward winning the group.
While the Norwegians rolled over top favorites Italy 3-0 and scored a surreal 24 goals in five qualifying games, the Israeli team not only lost the first leg against the Scandinavians (2-4), but also recently suffered a 4-5 defeat to Italy in a wild match. The defensive vulnerability of the sky blue and white team could once again prove to be their downfall in this away game in Oslo. In our Norway vs. Israel prediction, we expect a clear home win and are placing a handicap of -1.5 on the Scandinavians.
On average, the Norwegian national soccer team, which has won all of its last eight international matches, scored 4.8 goals per qualifying match in Group I. This figure is closely linked to superstar Erling Haaland, who leads the scoring charts by a wide margin with nine goals. Teammate Thelo Aasgaard is even the third-best goal scorer in the entire European World Cup qualifiers with five goals.
Those who are not afraid to take risks can use the handy Bet-at-home app to bet on Norway vs. Israel at odds of 2.70 that Haaland will once again score at least a brace in this home game. New customers of this bookmaker can also claim a 200% boost in addition to a 100% bonus with the Bet-at-home bonus.
Norway – Israel Head-to-head comparison / H2H record
Head to head: 2 – 0 – 1
Three international matches have been played between the two nations so far, and after the first duel went to the Israeli team, Norway has won the last two. The Scandinavians also secured a 4-2 victory against the sky blue and whites in the first leg on March 25, 2025, which took place on neutral ground in Debrecen.
Norway – Israel Tip
Looking at recent form, there is almost no alternative to predicting a home win for Norway against Israel, which would bring the Scandinavians a big step closer to direct qualification for the 2026 World Cup. The red, white, and blue scored an incredible 24 goals in five qualifying games, including a 3-0 win over top favorites Italy. Although the Israelis also put up a good fight, they came up short in the top matches against Norway (2-4) and Italy (4-5) because their defense was unable to keep up with the quality of their opponents in both games.
Against this backdrop, we expect this home game at Oslo’s Ullevaal Stadium to be a fairly one-sided affair. We therefore recommend betting on Stale Solbakken’s team to win by at least two goals.
For the -1.5 handicap on the home team, Bet365 is offering odds of 1.60 for Norway vs. Israel, which we are betting on with five out of ten units.
