PORTO: Cristiano Ronaldo may have missed the match, but Portugal delivered a sensational performance, destroying Armenia 9–1 on Sunday to finish on top of Group F and confirm their direct entry into the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The emphatic victory featured two hat-tricks — one each from Bruno Fernandes and rising star João Neves, while Portugal bounced back strongly from their previous 2–0 defeat to Ireland, where skipper Ronaldo was shown a red card.
Portugal started brightly, with Renato Veiga opening the scoring inside seven minutes. Armenia briefly equalised through Eduard Spertsyan, but that was all they could celebrate as Portugal switched into ruthless mode. Gonçalo Ramos put the hosts ahead again before Neves netted twice, including a stunning free-kick into the top corner, sending Portugal into halftime with a dominant 5–1 lead, capped by a Fernandes penalty.
Fernandes continued his scoring spree in the second half, converting another penalty and completing his hat-trick soon after. Neves then claimed his third goal in the 81st minute before substitute Francisco Conceição made it 9–1 in stoppage time, sealing one of Portugal’s biggest competitive wins in recent history.
Speaking after the match, Neves expressed pride in contributing to Portugal’s qualification:
“The most important thing was qualifying for the World Cup. The team always comes first. I’m very happy to score my first…and third goal for Portugal and to share the pitch with such great players,” he told RTP.
Portugal now march into the 2026 World Cup with renewed confidence, showing their depth, dominance and ability to shine even without their iconic captain.
