The Turkish national team secured a convincing victory in their warm-up match ahead of the 2026 World Cup, defeating North Macedonia at Sukru Saracoglu Stadium on 1 June 2026.
Norway and Turkey both registered emphatic wins in their pre-World Cup friendlies, while Austria also celebrated success.
Several participants of the upcoming 2026 World Cup continued their preparations with friendly matches as they fine-tune their squads for the grand tournament.
Three dark horses of the competition — Norway, Turkey, and Austria — played their respective friendlies on Monday (1 June 2026), each emerging victorious despite facing opponents of varying strengths.
Norway took the field first, hosting Sweden in a Scandinavian Derby at Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo.
Shortly after, Turkey faced North Macedonia at Sukru Saracoglu Stadium in Istanbul.
An interesting link between these matches is that both Sweden and North Macedonia were the teams that shattered Italy’s hopes of reaching the World Cup in 2018 and 2022, respectively.
Indeed, Sweden (2018) and North Macedonia (2022) were the sides that eliminated the Azzurri during the European playoff rounds in those editions.
Facing their fellow World Cup-bound neighbors, Norway dominated with a 3-1 victory.
Despite missing star players Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard, the Vikings controlled the game effortlessly.
Under Stale Solbakken’s guidance, Norway registered 22 shots compared to Sweden’s 9 attempts.
By the 30th minute, Norway had already established a 3-0 lead.
The opener came from Jorgen Strand Larsen, who headed in a deflected effort from Julian Ryerson.
Antonio Nusa doubled the lead with a stunning strike after dribbling past defenders inside the penalty area.
The Ryerson-Larsen duo combined again to tear apart Sweden’s defense and score Norway’s third goal.
With Erling Haaland watching from the stands, Norway went into halftime with a comfortable 3-0 advantage.
David Moller-Wolfe nearly extended the lead in the 62nd minute, but his goal was ruled out for offside.
Sweden responded by introducing Liverpool striker Alexander Isak, and the substitution paid off as Isak reduced the deficit with a superb solo goal.
He dribbled past defenders and fired the ball into the top corner, giving the visitors a glimmer of hope.
Sweden then thought they had scored a second, but the goal was disallowed after a VAR review.
With no further goals, Norway claimed a deserved 3-1 victory in the Scandinavian clash.
Further south, Turkey demolished North Macedonia 4-0 at Fenerbahce’s home ground in Istanbul.
The Crescent-Stars were clinical, scoring twice in each half, even though key players Hakan Calhanoglu and Arda Guler only entered the game after the break.
Goals from Orkun Kokcu, Can Uzun, Denis Gul, and Baris Yilmaz sealed the commanding win for Vincenzo Montella’s side against the team that failed to qualify for the North American tournament.
Meanwhile, Austria also earned a hard-fought 1-0 win over fellow World Cup participant Tunisia at Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna.
Ralf Rangnick’s men faced adversity when Konrad Laimer was sent off in the 37th minute, forcing them to play with 10 men for most of the match.
Despite being a man down, Austria clinched victory through a low-driven strike from Marcel Sabitzer.
Friendly Match Results
