Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal finally booked their ticket to the 2026 World Cup, overcoming recent setbacks emphatically. After missing an early chance due to a draw and suffering a defeat against Ireland—where Ronaldo’s red card created major uncertainty—Roberto Martínez’s men bounced back brilliantly, smashing Armenia 9–1 on Sunday to secure their seventh straight World Cup appearance.
Portugal Seals World Cup Spot in Dominant Fashion
In the absence of Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes and João Neves stepped up spectacularly, each delivering the first international hat-trick of their careers. Gonzalo Ramos, Francisco Conceição, and Rafael Veiga contributed a goal apiece, while Spartak scored the lone consolation for Armenia.
“𝑾𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒂 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒈𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒇𝒇.
Bruno Fernandes & João Neves Steal the Spotlight
Portugal entered the match with confidence at the Estádio do Dragão, having previously recorded a 9–0 win in 2023. This time, Armenia joined Luxembourg in sharing that same notoriety. The Portuguese dominated from kickoff, taking the lead in just the 7th minute through Veiga. Armenia momentarily equalised, but Portugal immediately responded in the 18th minute, thanks to Rafael Leão and Vitinha’s brilliant build-up.
Portugal completely controlled the game with 75% possession and 27 total shots, 13 of which were on target. Armenia had little opportunity to breathe under Portugal’s relentless pressure. The visitors even conceded two penalties after clumsy fouls in the box, both calmly converted by Bruno—one in first-half stoppage time and another in the 72nd minute.
Bruno completed his hat-trick with a well-timed finish in the 51st minute. Remarkably, it was his first goal in more than a year. Neves, too, celebrated his debut international goal—and turned it into a hat-trick, including a stunning free-kick.
“𝑺𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒈𝒐𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑷𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒈𝒂𝒍… 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒕-𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌—𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆,” 𝑵𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉.
Portugal now sits at 13 points in Group F with 4 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss. Ireland follows with 10 points after defeating Hungary, ending Hungary’s hopes of reaching the World Cup. Ireland, however, still needs to navigate the play-offs to reach the final tournament.
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