Erling Braut Haaland showed what the rescheduled Euro 2020 would be missing after he slammed home a hat-trick to help Norway to a 4-0 thrashing of Romania on Sunday.
Haaland struck in the 13th, 64th and 74th minutes as Norway moved level on six points with Nations League Group B leaders Austria, 1-0 winners at Northern Ireland.
Norway were knocked out of the Euros playoffs by Serbia on Thursday.
Alexander Sorloth also got on the scoresheet, while Real Madrid starlet Martin Odegaard registered two assists.
Portugal and Italy kept hold of first place in their respective groups with goalless draws against France and Poland.
There was not much to talk about at the Stade de France as a star-studded line up of players including Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann failed to muster much of a spectacle in the League A, Group 3 match.
The 1,000 fans gathered in the cavernous stadium just outside Paris to watch France host the reigning European champions were treated to just four shots on target.
"We didn't score a goal, but we weren't here to score goals," said Portugal coach Fernando Santos.
"France are a great team. They have great players. It's not always possible to create opportunities."
Pepe headed home what he thought was a 74th-minute opener when he got on the end of Bruno Fernandes' free kick but was flagged offside.
Ronaldo, chasing his 102nd international goal, was denied by a flying save from Hugo Lloris in added time.
Mbappe fluffed France's best when Rui Patricio anticipated his gentle chip when one-on-one with the Portuguese stopper.
Both sides are on seven points, four ahead of Croatia, whose 2-1 home win over Sweden earlier on Sunday was the group's more entertaining match, with a calamitous late lapse from Pontus Jansson allowing the 2018 World Cup finalists to snatch the points in rain-soaked Zagreb.
Defender Jansson dawdled under a high ball in the penalty area with six minutes remaining and allowed Ivan Perisic to nip in behind. The Inter Milan winger then squared the ball for Andrej Kramaric to tap in.
Sweden have no points after losing all three of their matches.
Italy stretched their unbeaten streak to 18 matches and held onto top spot in League A, Group 1 with their stalemate in Gdansk.
New Juventus signing Federico Chiesa missed the chance to win the match for the dominant Azzurri from close range in the 11th minute.
Roberto Mancini's side are one point ahead of the Netherlands, who drew 0-0 with Bosnia and Herzegovina, ahead of their meeting in Bergamo on Wednesday.
"We had several opportunities, especially in the first half when we could have scored at least two goals," said Mancini.
"Beyond the result, however, we are happy. We didn't score, but it happens."
_________________________
England v Belgium player ratings
