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

Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick as Norway cruised past Gibraltar 5-1 in the side’s FIFA World Cup qualifier, while Memphis Depay also scored three in the Netherlands’ 6-1 thrashing of Turkey.

Haaland bagged his third goal late on in Tuesday’s game in Oslo having scored twice in the first half.

Kristian Thorstvedt opened the scoring for Norway, which has now won four of its six qualifying matches for Qatar 2022, before Haaland doubled the lead following a deft piece of control in Gibraltar’s box.

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The Borussia Dortmund star got his second 12 minutes later when he once again found himself in space in front of goal.

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.

Haaland celebrates scoring against Gibraltar.

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.

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A foul on Klaasen allowed Depay to score his second from the penalty spot before Turkish defender Caglar S?yüncü, 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.

Cengiz ünder’s goal after careless play at the back from the host side was only a consolation as the 6-1 scoreline marked Turkey’s biggest defeat since October 1990, according to data site Gracenote.

Depay scores his penalty against Turkey.

In Tuesday’s other European World Cup qualifiers, Antoine Griezmann became France’s third-highest scorer alongside Michel Platini on 41 as he netted twice in a 2-0 win against Finland.

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.