Erling Haaland and Memphis Depay score hat-tricks as Norway and Netherlands secure emphatic World Cup qualifier victories

Thorstvedt almost got his second when he rattled a shot against the inside of the post, but it was Gibraltar which scored next as Reece Styche chipped in for his country’s third goal of the qualifying campaign.

A comeback looked unlikely, however, as Norway pushed to extend its lead in the second half. Alexander Sorloth scored his side’s fourth just before the hour mark, before Haaland completed the scoring — and his hat-trick — from close range.

Dutch dominance

The victory leaves Norway second in Group G, level on points with the Netherlands, which overcame Turkey thanks to three goals from Depay and one each from Davy Klaassen and substitutes Donyell Malen and Guus Til.

It took just 54 seconds for Klaassen to open the scoring for Netherlands, and he turned provider moments later with a flick through for Depay to get his first.

A foul on Klaasen allowed Depay to score his second from the penalty spot before Turkish defender Caglar Söyüncü, who conceded the foul for the penalty, was sent off for his second yellow card just before halftime.

Depay tallied his third with a simple header on the line eight minutes into the second half, before Til and Malen scored Netherlands’ fifth and sixth in the game’s final 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, Denmark, which has scored 22 goals and conceded none so far this qualifying campaign, continued its strong form with a 5-0 victory over Israel. Portugal, Croatia, Slovakia, and Scotland were among the countries to also record wins on Tuesday.