Portugal hammered Armenia 9-1 on Sunday to secure their place at the 2026 World Cup, achieving the result without suspended superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.
Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Joao Neves each grabbed hat-tricks as Roberto Martinez’s men produced a dominant display in Porto to finish top of Group F.
Renato Veiga opened the scoring for Portugal, with Goncalo Ramos and Francisco Conceicao also finding the net.
After being held in Hungary in October and losing unexpectedly to Ireland on Thursday, where Ronaldo was sent off, Portugal finally sealed qualification at the third attempt in their last group fixture.
They will now appear at the World Cup for the seventh straight time, although the Euro 2016 winners are still chasing their first title.
Portugal started sharply and was ahead inside seven minutes. Fernandes whipped in a powerful free-kick from the left that goalkeeper Henri Avagyan pushed onto the post, only for Veiga to nod in the rebound.
Armenia stunned the hosts moments later by levelling through captain Eduard Spertsyan, who converted Grant-Leon Ranos’s cross.
But Portugal immediately regained control. Ramos intercepted a poor back pass, rounded Avagyan, and squeezed in the second.
A well-worked Portuguese move produced the third, with Neves rifling in from the edge of the area following a neat pass from Fernandes.
Neves then curled in a brilliant free-kick for his second, sending the ball into the top right corner beyond Avagyan.
Fernandes added Portugal’s fifth in first-half stoppage time from the penalty spot after Ruben Dias was brought down.
The midfielder struck again early in the second half after receiving a pass from Ramos.
Fernandes completed his treble with another penalty after debutant Carlos Forbs was fouled.
Neves then fired in Portugal’s eighth, finishing from close range after Veiga headed Fernandes’s cross into his path.
Conceicao made it nine in added time, rounding off one of Portugal’s biggest victories in history.
In the group’s other match, Ireland shocked Hungary with a dramatic 3-2 victory to claim a play-off spot, as Troy Parrott scored a hat-trick after his midweek double against Portugal.
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