Portugal booked their place at 2026 World Cup on Sunday after beating Armenia 9–1 in Porto.
Gatekeepers News reports that the victory came in their final Group F match, following a draw in Hungary and an unexpected loss to Ireland earlier in the week.
Renato Veiga opened the scoring, while Goncalo Ramos and Francisco Conceicao also found the net. The standout performers were Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes and Paris Saint-Germain’s Joao Neves, who each scored three goals to help Portugal finish top of the group and qualify for their seventh straight World Cup.
Portugal started fast. Fernandes’ free-kick was pushed onto the post by goalkeeper Henri Avagyan, and Veiga headed in the rebound. Armenia replied immediately when Grant-Leon Ranos set up captain Eduard Spertsyan to equalise. But Portugal quickly took control again, with Ramos intercepting a poor back pass and scoring their second goal.
A well-worked move then led to the third, as Neves fired into the net from the edge of the box. He later scored again with a powerful free-kick into the top corner. Fernandes added a fifth goal from the penalty spot in first-half stoppage time after Ruben Dias was fouled.
The second half continued in the same way. Fernandes scored again after receiving a pass from Ramos, then completed his hat-trick with another penalty when debutant Carlos Forbs was brought down. Neves also completed his hat-trick after Veiga headed a cross into his path, and Conceicao added the final goal in stoppage time.
In the other Group F match, Ireland beat Hungary 3–2 with a late winner, thanks to a hat-trick from Troy Parrott after scoring twice against Portugal earlier in the week.
