Midfielder Morten Thorsby revealed that captain Erling Haaland’s calm and composed half-time message played a key role in Norway’s 4–1 win over Estonia on Thursday — a result that puts the team on the verge of reaching their first World Cup since 1998.

With Martin Ødegaard sidelined, Haaland wore the armband and urged his teammates not to panic after a frustrating first half in Oslo. Norway had been held to 0–0 and were loudly booed by the home crowd as they walked off the pitch.

But the second half brought an explosive turnaround. Norway struck four times in a 12-minute blitz, with Alexander Sørloth scoring twice shortly after the restart before Haaland netted a quickfire brace of his own. Estonia’s Robi Saarma grabbed a consolation goal in the 64th minute.

“Erling stayed calm and gave us belief,” Thorsby told broadcaster NRK. “He said, ‘We’ll sort this, boys. The goal will come — just keep pushing.’ That’s exactly the reassurance we needed.”

Defender Torbjørn Lysaker Heggem also noted that Haaland, who extended his national scoring record to 53 goals, delivered a direct tactical instruction during the interval.

“He told us to get more crosses into him — to put even more balls in the box,” Heggem explained. “Especially with Estonia sitting so deep. And it worked — you saw the difference within five minutes.”

Thorsby added that both Haaland and Ødegaard have made major strides as leaders within the group.

“They’ve taken big steps,” he said. “They understand more clearly now how their words and actions affect the rest of us. It spreads throughout the team.”

Norway now sit three points ahead of Italy at the top of Group I and are all but assured of a place at next year’s World Cup in North America. The two sides meet on Sunday in Milan.

Italy appear destined for the March play-offs, as they would not only have to beat Norway but overturn a 17-goal deficit to steal the automatic qualification spot.