Haaland's five-goal haul marked a personal best for Norway and was the most scored by a European man in a World Cup qualifier since Austria’s Hans Krankl netted six against Malta in 1977.

Despite having been involved in a freak bus accident on Tuesday – requiring stitches in his face – the Manchester City forward was on hand to steal the headlines once again.

Norway’s dominance was further underlined by four goals off the bench from Thelo Aasgaard, with Felix Horn Myhre and captain Martin Odegaard also on the scoresheet.

Norway sits six points clear of Italy in Group I with 15 points from five games, after the Azzurri scraped a 5-4 win over Israel on Monday.

The qualifiers will conclude with a crucial head-to-head clash between Norway and Italy in November, which could decide the group’s top spot.

Elsewhere, Marcel Sabitzer and Konrad Laimer found the net as Ralf Rangnick's Austria beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-1 in Zenica.

Sabitzer and Laimer netted either side of Edin Dzeko's 50th minute strike –  his fourth goal in his last three UEFA World Cup qualifiers. 

While Bosnia remains top of Group H on goal difference, Austria has a game in hand on the leader, having won all four of its qualification games. 

Elsewhere, Ukraine was held to a 1-1 draw in Azerbaijan, with a 72nd-minute Emin Mahmudov penalty cancelling out Heorhii Sudakov's earlier goal for the visitors.

Despite conceding two early goals, Cyprus's dominance paid dividends as it fought back to earn a 2-2 draw against Romania.

Meanwhile, Albania registered a 1-0 home win over Latvia, with the host moving up to second in Group K, behind England.