Italy snub Acerbi, so who will mark danger man Haaland in Norway?

Luciano Spalletti shrugged off the suggestion he could recall Francesco Acerbi for Italy’s 2026 World Cup qualifier with Norway, so who could mark Erling Haaland?

The Azzurri were knocked out of the Nations League quarter-final with Germany, 5-4 on aggregate, and are therefore placed into Group I to reach the World Cup.

Along with Israel, Estonia and Moldova, their campaign begins in Norway on June 6 and the big fear is facing Haaland.

The striker was effectively neutralised by Acerbi when Inter played a 0-0 Champions draw against them earlier this season, but Spalletti rejected the suggestion in a press conference that the veteran be brought in purely for these games.

Some Italy defenders have experience with Haaland

The other central defenders who could be tasked with marking Haaland include Napoli’s Alessandro Buongiorno, who started in place of injured Riccardo Calafiori in the 3-3 draw with Germany.

He is the current favourite, as both Alessandro Bastoni and Calafiori prefer to push forward rather than focus on man-marking.

Other candidates include Juventus defender Federico Gatti, who did well against Haaland when Juventus beat Manchester City 2-0 in the Champions.

A less likely option is Fiorentina defender Pietro Comuzzo, who has been included in the last two Italy groups, but is yet to make his debut.