Portugal qualified for the 2026 World Cup on Sunday with a 9-1 hammering of Armenia that included hat-tricks from both Bruno Fernandes and Joao Neves.
The reigning Nations League champions were forced to wait to book an automatic spot after losing 2-0 to Ireland on Thursday in a game where their captain Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off.
But Roberto Martinez’s side needed no help from their all-time top scorer in a one-sided match that assured them top spot in Group F with 13 points, giving Ronaldo the opportunity to play at a record sixth World Cup.
Portugal opened the scoring when defender Renato Veiga netted a close-range header in the seventh minute but they were stunned when Eduard Spertsyan converted a cross from Grant-Leon Ranos 11 minutes later.
It was only Armenia’s third goal in the qualifying group having failed to score in their previous three games.
However, any hopes of an upset were quickly extinguished as Ramos restored Portugal’s lead while Neves added two goals before halftime, including a superb free-kick into the top corner.
Fernandes then converted a penalty in first-half added time to make it 5–1 at the break.
The second half continued in the same pattern as Fernandes struck again soon after the restart after he was set up by Ramos.
A flurry of substitutions followed but Portugal’s pressure never relented and when they earned another penalty, Fernandes completed his hat-trick.
Neves then added his third goal of the night with a composed finish after Portugal hit the post while, at the other end, Diogo Costa and the Portuguese defence comfortably kept Armenia at bay.
Francisco Conceicao then added the icing on the cake with a long-range strike in added time as Portugal completed the rout.
Ireland finished second in the group with 10 points to clinch a playoff berth after they beat Hungary 3-2 with a last-gasp goal in the sixth minute of added time.- Reuters
