Source: Alamy Stock Photo

Portugal Book World Cup Spot with Nine-Goal Rout of Armenia

Portugal stormed into the 2026 FIFA World Cup — their seventh consecutive and ninth overall appearance — after demolishing Armenia 9-1 at the Estádio do Dragão in Porto on the final matchday of Group F in the European qualifiers.

The goals came from Renato Veiga (7’), Gonçalo Ramos (28’), João Neves (30’, 42’, 81’), Bruno Fernandes (45+3’, 52’, 72’ — two penalties), and substitute Francisco Conceição (90+2’), while Eduard Spertsyan (18’) scored Armenia’s lone goal.

This was Portugal’s biggest-ever World Cup qualifying victory, surpassing their 7-1 triumph over Russia in the 2006 qualifiers, and equaling their second-largest official win (8-0 twice against Liechtenstein in the Euro 1996 and 2000 qualifiers) — all achieved without captain Cristiano Ronaldo, who was suspended after being sent off in the previous match against Ireland.

With the win, Portugal cemented top spot in the group with 13 points, three clear of Ireland, who clinched a playoff berth after a dramatic 3-2 comeback win over Hungary. Troy Parrott was the hero, netting a hat-trick (15’, penalty; 80’, 96’), while Daniel Lukács (3’) and Barnabás Varga (37’) had given Hungary a two-goal advantage before conceding late to drop to third, two points behind Ireland.

Norway Qualify, Italy Face Playoff Again

Norway sealed qualification for their first World Cup since 1998 after coming from behind to defeat Italy 4-1 in Rome — a result that sent the four-time world champions into the playoffs for the third consecutive campaign.

Norway finished the group six points clear of Italy to book their fourth-ever World Cup appearance, while Italy must now try to avoid a repeat of their 2018 and 2022 heartbreaks, when they were eliminated by Sweden and North Macedonia in the playoff rounds.

Italy took the lead through Francesco Pio Esposito (11’), but Norway roared back with goals from Antonio Nusa (63’), Erling Haaland (78’, 79’), and Jørgen Strand Larsen (90+3’) to seal a famous victory in Milan.

Routine Wins for France and England

Meanwhile, the French national team — already qualified in advance — earned their fifth victory by defeating hosts Azerbaijan 3-1, in the final round of Group D fixtures.

Les Bleus secured qualification for the World Cup for the eighth consecutive time, and the seventeenth in their history, following their 4-0 win over Ukraine in the previous round last Thursday. Ukraine, for their part, secured a playoff spot by finishing second in the group, after defeating Iceland 2-0 to move three points ahead.

France manager Didier Deschamps made 11 changes to the starting lineup, granting goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier his first international appearance since being called up in October 2024.

The hosts surprised their visitors by taking the lead through Renat Dadashov with a close-range finish after a cross from Rahman Dashdamirov (4). But the French responded through Jean-Philippe Mateta, who equalised with a header following a cross from Malo Gusto (17), before Maghnes Akliouche gave them the lead with a close-range effort after following up another Gusto cross (30), and Shahruddin Mahammadaliyev added the third with an own goal (45).

In Group K, England completed their qualifiers with a perfect record, making it six wins from six after a 2-0 victory in Albania. Captain Harry Kane opened the scoring from a corner (74’) before heading in a second from Marcus Rashford’s cross (82’).

Albania finished second with 14 points, one ahead of Serbia, who edged Latvia 2-1 to secure third place.

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Portugal Book World Cup Spot with Nine-Goal Rout of Armenia

Norway Qualify, Italy Face Playoff Again

Routine Wins for France and England

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