As you cannot be drawn into a group with teams at the same seeding level, Norway will therefore not have to meet nations such as Sweden, Turkey and Poland in the WC qualification.
It became clear when Scotland failed to secure a top-two position in their group in the A division of the Nations League. Norway was in danger of dropping down to the 3rd seeding level, but need not worry about that now.
To secure 2nd place, Scotland depended on a win away to Scotland, while Croatia had to lose at home to Portugal. However, Scotland did the job themselves as they won 2-1, but Croatia put a stick in the Scots’ wheels when they drew 1-1 in Split.
Ståle Solbakken’s men will in any case face tough opposition from the team that awaits from the 1st seeding level. Among other big guns such as France, Spain and England are located there.
The draw for the group stage in the WC qualification takes place on 13 December. The twelve group winners qualify directly for the WC in the USA, Canada and Mexico in 2026, while 2nd place holds play-offs for the last WC tickets from Europe.
If Norway ends up outside the top two in their qualifying group, Ståle Solbakken’s men are almost guaranteed a place in the play-off anyway. Norway made sure of that with a 5-0 win over Kazakhstan and victory in the national league’s group B3 on Sunday.
Read comment: The football boys ended the national team year at 20 in style, and that’s how expectations of (+)