NEW DELHI: Portugal punched their ticket to FIFA World Cup 26 with a comprehensive 9- victory over Armenia in Porto, despite the absence of captain Cristiano Ronaldo who was forced to sit out the clash through suspension after his red card in the recent defeat by Ireland.
Bruno Fernandes and Joao Neves each scored hat-tricks to propel Portugal past Armenia and to World Cup qualification.
The goals came at a steady rate, beginning with Renato Veiga’s header off a parry from goalkeeper Henri Avagyan. Armenia equalised when Eduard Spertsian connected with Grant-Leon Ranos’ cross, but Portugal regained the lead for good on a swoop and score from Ramos following an Armenian mistake.
Moments later Fernandes set up a thumping finish for Neves, who added a second on a perfectly struck free-kick. Fernandes got into the scoring swing with his hat-trick, sandwiching two penalty conversions around a right-footed finish.
Portugal’s celebratory day was then rounded out by Neves’ third and a last-second strike from Francisco Conceicao.
Meanwhile, goal-machine Erling Haaland added two more to his tally as Norway extended their perfect record with a 4-1 victory over Italy in Milan, ensuring they returned to the global showpiece for the first time since 1998, with the Azzurri having to settle for a play-off place.