A hot potato of an occasion passed with minor blemishes off the pitch. Erling Haaland stole the attention with a hat-trick on it, rendering his early double penalty miss a distant memory, and the upshot was that Norway could look with clear heads toward a near-certain first World Cup appearance in 27 years. A win over Estonia next month will confirm their presence; Egil Olsen, their manager at France 1998, looked on as Israel offered scant opposition to Europe’s most ruthless attacking force.

Israel’s very presence in Oslo had been highly contested, the buildup framed by the Norwegian Football Federation’s public stance that they should be banned from international football due to the war in Gaza. There will be relief that confrontations were kept to a minimum beyond a brief spate of trouble outside the Ullevaal Stadion during half-time.

Phase one of the day’s intensive security operation had concluded smoothly. At 2pm a crowd of pro-Palestine protesters, cohered by the Palestine Committee in Norway, had gathered at Spikersuppa in the centre of Oslo in preparation for their march to Ullevaal. A matter of yards away, polite applause had rippled intermittently as the swearing-in of Norway’s parliament was relayed on a big screen. The marchers, whose number swelled to around 1,500 during the 2.6 mile route, were more vigorously propelled by flares and beating drums. Red cards were distributed among attendees.

Inger Lise, wearing a national team scarf, was one of the few who had turned up to the protest in Norway’s football colours. Once a keen player, she had a ticket for the game but considered the occasion tainted. “It’s very frustrating,” she said while holding one end of a large “Free Palestine” banner, the other clasped by a friend. “The game shouldn’t have been played but it’s not up to us to ruin it. It’s just horrible that we are here now.”

Inside Andy’s Pub, a Liverpool-themed bar situated close to the march’s meeting point, six supporters in their mid-50s felt the moment they could make an impact had passed. “Israel should have been banned before, we can’t do anything now,” one said. They had travelled from Tromsø, inside the Arctic Circle to watch the match and wore shirts carrying names from the 1998 squad.

A fan holds a red card as other supporters unfurl Palestinian flags at the Ullevaal Stadion. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

As the march passed northwards through well-heeled neighbourhoods, some residents gathered on balconies or wound down car windows to shout encouragement. The police presence, visible but never overbearing, stopped well short of any confrontation at that point. The only exception came as its participants prepared to set off. A handful of Israeli journalists had arrived at the protest and, apparently after being involved in an exchange with a member of the public, were escorted away from the scene.

The 80-minute march ended with speeches and songs at a stage constructed opposite Ullevaal, a smaller protest arriving to swell numbers in the hour before kick-off. Nearby, a small group of fans bearing Norwegay and Israel flags were marshalled towards the ground by police officers.

As the teams emerged before kick-off, supporters in the west stand unfurled a Palestine flag next to another imploring “Let children live”. The stance Fifa and Uefa take to those displays remains to be seen. Israel’s pocket of around 100 fans held up their own flag during the national anthem while a minority of home supporters whistled.

That was as heated as matters inside the stadium became. The only notable security lapse arose in the eighth minute when, even though the front three rows were covered in a bid to prevent this eventuality, a sole protester ran on to the pitch before being wrestled to the ground by security personnel. He was named by local media as Mario Ferri, who refers to himself as “The Falcon” and has a history of such incursions in various global stadiums.

A protester waves a Palestine flag as policemen stand guard outside the Ullevaal Stadion. Photograph: Javad Parsa/EPA

By then Haaland had already erred from the spot, Daniel Peretz saving his first effort and a VAR-ordered retake. After play resumed Norway pulled well clear against opponents whose technical acuity was let down by a nonexistent defence. Haaland made amends quickly either side of own goals by Anan Khalaili and Idan Nachmias, the latter when the ball was drilled against him by Peretz. Three goals in a 10-minute spell had ended the contest.

As the first half finished, around 200 protesters remained outside. In the day’s one major flashpoint, police used teargas after a barrier was pulled down close to the stadium entrance. Ten arrests were made but the authorities emphasised that most those involved had otherwise behaved well.

Haaland put himself front and centre again by finishing twice more, his third goal bringing up 51 in 46 caps. “Free Palestine” chanted a section of the support as proceedings wound down, reminding everyone that the backdrop could never quite be punctured.