Portugal qualify for World Cup in grand style
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.
"The most important thing was qualifying for the World Cup. For me, as I always say, the team always comes before the individual," Neves told RTP after opening his account for Portugal.
"I'm very happy to have scored my first goal for the national team, and my second and third as well. I'm happy to be able to share the pitch with great players and a great team."
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.
"We have a young team and we are not ready to play against teams as powerful as Portugal. After games like this, we will be stronger in the future," Armenia coach Yegishe Melikyan said.
"We made mistakes that mentally broke our team and we were not expecting the errors that occurred for Portugal's second and third goals. We aren't yet mentally prepared for these sorts of games."
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.
Last-gasp Parrott hat-trick books Ireland playoff spot
A 96th-minute Troy Parrott goal to complete his hat-trick booked Ireland a spot in the playoffs for next year's World Cup with a thrilling 3-2 comeback victory over their nearest Group F rivals Hungary in a must-win game in Budapest.
Higher-ranked Hungary just needed a draw to secure second place and led 2-1 at halftime thanks to goals from Daniel Lukacs and Barnabas Varga, but Parrott's second goal of the night on 80 minutes and last-gasp winner ended the heartbroken hosts' qualification hopes.
Parrott had described his double in Thursday's shock 2-0 win over Portugal that set up the dramatic finale as the best night of his life and was in tears after Sunday topped that.
Hungary, who had high hopes of reaching a first World Cup in 40 years, got off to the perfect start when Lukacs flicked in a Dominik Szoboszlai short corner on four minutes, only for Parrott to equalise from the penalty spot on 15 minutes.
Caoimhin Kelleher kept the sides level with a fine close range save from Roland Sallai but could do nothing on 37 minutes when Varga chested the ball down with his back to goal just outside the box, swivelled and unleashed a stunning left-foot half volley into the top corner.
Ireland looked out of gas until Parrott broke through to equalise again with 10 minutes to go and stabbed home his fifth goal in two games with a finish reminiscent of Robbie Keane's famous equaliser against Germany the last time Ireland played in a World Cup in 2002.
He was mobbed by exultant teammates and substitutes as Ireland moved within two single-leg playoff games in March from a trip to the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Portugal finished top of Group F on 13 points after a 9-1 win over bottom-placed Armenia, three points clear of the Irish.
England breeze through to World Cup finals, now for the hard part
England captain Harry Kane poached a late double for his side to complete a record-setting World Cup qualification campaign with a hard-earned 2-0 victory away to Albania in Group K on Sunday.
It had looked like England might drop their first points, but Kane tapped home from close range in the 74th minute when Albania failed to deal with a corner.
He then made it 2-0 eight minutes later with a clinical header from substitute Marcus Rashford's deep cross.
In keeping a clean sheet, Thomas Tuchel's side became the first European nation to qualify for a World Cup by winning all their games without conceding a goal in a group featuring at least six games.
England also became just the fifth European team to qualify for a World Cup with a 100% record after finishing Group K with a maximum 24 points from their eight games, scoring 22 goals.
"It was a really tough game, probably one of the toughest we've had in the group," said Kane, who has scored an astonishing 28 goals for club and country this season.
"We had to be patient, we had to grind them down and be defensively really solid. A 2-0 win and another clean sheet, we're really happy. It was an important win, you don't want to finish with a loss," he added to ITV Sport.
With their spot in North America long since guaranteed, Tuchel made a host of changes for the clash against a lively Albania side who will take their chances in the playoffs after finishing as group runners-up.
Tuchel restored Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham to the starting line-up after he returned to England action for the first time since June with a substitute appearance in the victory over Serbia at Wembley on Thursday.
There was also a first senior cap for defender Jarell Quansah while Jarrod Bowen and Adam Wharton were also given the opportunity to impress.
Albania had gone eight games unbeaten since losing 2-0 away to England in March and pre-match predictions that Sylvinho's side would pose a threat proved correct with winger Arber Hoxha a constant menace.
He forced Dean Henderson, in for the rested Jordan Pickford, into a fine save after halftime and then should have put Albania in front from a sweeping move but shot straight at Henderson.
Bowen came closest for England in the first half as he was denied by a sharp save from Thomas Strakosha while after the break Bellingham and Eberechi Eze were close for the visitors.
The result was still very much in the balance when a low corner from substitute Bukayo Saka flashed across the area and Kane touched in.
His second was a majestic header that gave Strakosha no chance as Kane took his England tally to 78 goals from 112 games, moving past the 77 scored in 92 games for his country by Brazilian great Pele.
"They just mentioned it in the dressing room," Tuchel said of Kane's latest landmark. "It's the cherry on top that he overtakes Pele. His mindset and physical condition is exceptional."
Reserve France side end campaign with win in Azerbaijan
A second-string French side overcome a nervous start to beat Azerbaijan 3-1 away on Sunday and wrap up their World Cup campaign after having already qualified.
Coach Didier Deschamps rotated his entire line-up after Les Bleus sealed their spot against Ukraine on Thursday.
France top Europe's Group D with 16 points from six games after goals by Jean-Philippe Mateta and Maghnes Akliouche plus an own goal from Shakhruddin Magomedaliyev helped them recover from Renat Dadashov’s opener.
The players who came in lacked cohesion at times but showed no shortage of motivation, with several squad places still up for grabs for the tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19.
The win ensured France head into the next phase with momentum and they will be seeded for the December 5 World Cup draw.
France were stunned in the fourth minute when Dadashov latched onto a cross from Rahman Dashdamirov, who had caught Malo Gusto off guard on the left flank.
Gusto made up for his error in the 17th minute with a pinpoint cross for Mateta, who headed home to equalise.
Akliouche fired home from six yards after another assist by Gusto.
Four minutes after having a goal ruled out, Thuram thought he had made it 3-1 on the stroke of halftime but it was goalkeeper Magomedaliyev who deflected the ball into his own goal.
France had several chances in the second half but Azerbaijan defended solidly.
Ukraine book spot in World Cup playoffs with win over Iceland
Ukraine's Oleksandr Zubkov powered home a header late in the second half and Oleksii Hutsuliak added a second goal to book their spot in the playoffs for next year's World Cup as they beat Group D rivals Iceland 2-0 in Warsaw on Sunday.
The two sides were level on points heading into the match but Ukraine needed the win to earn second spot behind group winners France, with Iceland boasting a better goal difference.
Midfielder Zubkov delivered with his first international goal for three years in the 83rd minute and Hutsuliak's stoppage-time effort made the result safe.
Forward Viktor Tsygankov nearly got Ukraine on the board in the 24th minute when his shot from outside the box ricocheted off the crossbar and Iceland's goalkeeper Elias Olafsson dived to keep out another attempt from striker Vladyslav Vanat 16 minutes later.
Iceland withstood an all-out attack from Ukraine in the second half, as Olafsson threw his body in front of Hutsuliak's back-to-back attempts from close range in the 82nd minute.
But a minute later, Zubkov headed in off the far post after a corner was flicked on by Hutsuliak, who then found the back of the net with a deflected effort three minutes into stoppage time.
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