2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group I
Association football tournament group
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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.
The group winners, Norway, qualified directly for the World Cup finals, while the runners-up, Italy, advanced to the second round (play-offs).
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |  |
 |
 |
 |
 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norway |
8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 5 | +32 | 24 | Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup | — | 3–0 | 5–0 | 4–1 | 11–1 | |
| 2 | Italy |
8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 21 | 12 | +9 | 18 | Advance to play-offs | 1–4 | — | 3–0 | 5–0 | 2–0 | |
| 3 | Israel |
8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 19 | 20 | −1 | 12 | 2–4 | 4–5 | — | 2–1 | 4–1 | ||
| 4 | Estonia |
8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 21 | −13 | 4 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | — | 1–1 | ||
| 5 | Moldova |
8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 32 | −27 | 1 | 0–5 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 2–3 | — |
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 | 2–3 | Estonia |
|---|---|---|
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Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
| Israel | 2–4 | Norway |
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| Estonia | 1–3 | Israel |
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| Moldova | 0–4 | Israel |
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| Israel | 4–5 | Italy |
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| Estonia | 1–1 | Moldova |
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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
Maksim Paskotši- Rasmus Peetson
- Robi Saarma
Tai Baribo- Eli Dasa
- Oscar Gloukh
- Eliel Peretz
- Roy Revivo
- Manor Solomon
Alessandro Bastoni- Andrea Cambiaso
- Matteo Politano
- Sandro Tonali
Ștefan Bodișteanu- Mihail Caimacov
Kristoffer Ajer- Aron Dønnum
- Felix Horn Myhre
- David Møller Wolfe
- Martin Ødegaard
- Julian Ryerson
- Jørgen Strand Larsen
1 own goal
- Karl Hein (against Israel)
- Anan Khalaily (against Norway)
- Idan Nachmias (against Norway)
- Alessandro Bastoni (against Israel)
- Manuel Locatelli (against Israel)
- Vladislav Baboglo (against Israel)
- Leo Østigård (against Moldova)
Discipline
A player or team official was automatically suspended for the next match for the following offences:[27]
- Receiving a red card (red card suspensions could be extended for serious offences)
- Receiving two yellow cards in two different matches (yellow card suspensions were carried forward to the play-offs, but not the finals or any other future international matches)
The following suspensions were served during the qualifying matches:[28]
| Team | Player | Offence(s) | Suspended for match(es) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estonia | Markus Soomets |   vs Israel (22 March 2025) | vs Moldova (25 March 2025) |
| Kevor Palumets | vs Moldova (25 March 2025) | vs Israel (6 June 2025) | |
| Rasmus Peetson | vs Israel (22 March 2025) vs Moldova (25 March 2025) | vs Israel (6 June 2025) | |
| Henri Anier | vs Israel (22 March 2025) vs Italy (5 September 2025) | vs Italy (11 October 2025) | |
| Italy | Alessandro Bastoni | vs Estonia (5 September 2025) vs Estonia (11 October 2025) | vs Israel (14 October 2025) |
| Nicolò Barella | vs Estonia (11 October 2025) vs Israel (14 October 2025) | vs Moldova (13 November 2025) | |
| Moldova | Maxim Cojocaru |  vs Estonia (25 March 2025) | vs Italy (9 June 2025) |
| Vadim Rață | vs Norway (22 March 2025) vs Estonia (25 March 2025) | vs Italy (9 June 2025) | |
| Ion Nicolaescu | vs Estonia (25 March 2025) vs Italy (9 June 2025) | vs Israel (5 September 2025) | |
| Vladislav Baboglo | vs Estonia (25 March 2025) vs Estonia (14 October 2025) | vs Italy (13 November 2025) |
Notes
- 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]