Portuguese and Norwegian footballers advanced to the World Cup. After a crushing 9-1 victory over Armenia, the Portuguese dominated Qualifying Group F and will make their seventh consecutive appearance at the World Cup. Thanks to Erling Haaland’s two more goals, the Norwegians won 4:1 in Italy and went through the qualification without losing a point. They will play in the final tournament for the first time since 1998.
In the absence of the suspended Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese cannonade was directed by midfielders and hat-trick scorers Joao Neves and Bruno Fernandes. Stopper Renato Veiga and forwards Goncalo Ramos and Francisco Conceicao added one goal each.
Spanish coach Roberto Martínez’s men could have celebrated their promotion already on Thursday, but they lost 0:2 to Ireland in Dublin and finished the match without the suspended Ronaldo. Now the team captain can look forward to a record sixth start at the World Cup, but he is in danger of missing the start of the tournament due to a yet-to-be-announced disciplinary penalty.
The Portuguese recorded the second highest victory in history. They only managed to win by a higher margin in September 2023 against Luxembourg (9:0).
“Such goals are the result of collective work not only during the match but also during the week in training. It’s not the first time we’ve created so many chances, but it’s the first time we’ve scored from so many,” said PSG midfielder Neves.
Norway: 37 goals in eight games!
The Norwegians could only theoretically lose the promotion. Their Italian rivals delayed their celebrations on Thursday as they won 2-0 in Moldova thanks to two late goals, but needed to beat Norway by nine goals in their final qualifying game to avoid a play-off.
But they did not come close to that in Milan, although they took the lead in the 11th minute. The northerners turned the result around in the second half. First, Nusa equalized, then Haaland scored twice in the space of two minutes, and in the set time, substitute Larsen also made his mark. Coach Stale Solbakken’s choice scored 37 goals in the World Cup, 16 of which were scored by Haaland, the clear best scorer of the qualification.
In the “Portuguese” group F, the play-off was secured by the Irish after a great drama, who won 3:2 over Hungary in a direct fight for second place in Budapest. The home team led twice in the match, but Troy Parrott equalized each time and in the set time completed a hat trick, taking away the Hungarians’ chance to participate in the championship. Matěj Šín’s teammate from the Dutch club AZ Alkmaar scored five goals in the qualification and all during the November meeting, as he was also the only scorer in Thursday’s duel with the Portuguese.
“Look at our team. They’re all crying. I said after Portugal it was a dream, but today… Probably nothing will beat it in my life,” gushed Irish hero Parrott.
In the play-off, the Icelandic coach Heimír Hallgrímsson’s team will compete for the first participation in the World Cup since 2002.
Ukraine secured the play-off
In addition to Norway, England also finished the qualification with a 100 percent record from eight matches. In addition, the team of German coach Thomas Tuchel became the first European team to make it to the World Cup without conceding a single goal in a group with at least six games played, with a total score of 22:0. The final 2-0 victory in Albania was arranged by striker Kane, who scored both goals, helping the English to the championship with a total of eight hits. England have won their eleventh competitive match in a row, which they have achieved for the first time in their history.
The French also secured progress with a 3-1 win over Azerbaijan in Baku and also finished the qualification undefeated. Coach Didier Deschamps spared a number of representative supports in the match, including the injured Kylian Mbappé, and after conceding a goal in the 4th minute, his team had to turn the match around. It was the first time since September 2013, when they overturned the duel in Belarus, that France managed a turnover on the opponent’s pitch.
Second place in Group D and participation in the play-off was secured by Ukraine, which defeated Iceland 2:0 in a direct match on neutral ground in Warsaw. It was decided only in the final ten minutes, during which strikers Zubkov and Huculjak scored. A draw was enough for Iceland, but just like in the opening mutual match of the qualifiers, they also lost to Ukraine in the play-off for the European Championship last year.
Group D:
Warsaw: Ukraine – Iceland 2:0 (0:0)
Branka: 83. Zubkov, 90.+3 Huculjak.
Baku: Azerbaijan – France 1:3 (1:3)
Goals: 4. Dadashov – 17. Mateta, 30. Akliouche, 45. own Magomedaliyev.
Group F:
Budapest: Hungary – Ireland 2:3 (2:1)
Goals: 3. Lukács, 38. Varga – 15. z pen., 80. a 90.+6 Parrot.
Porto: Portugal – Armenia 9:1 (5:1)
Goals: 30., 41. to 81. J. Neves, 45.+3. z pen., 52. to 72. z pen. Fernandes, 7. Veiga, 28. Ramos, 90.+2 Conceicao – 18. Spercjan.
Group I:
Milan: Italy – Norway 1:4 (1:0)
Goals: 11. Esposito – 78. a 80. Haaland, 63. Nusa, 90. +3 Larsen.
Chisinau: Israel – Moldova 4:1 (1:1)
Goals: 65. to 88. Revivo, 21. Torghman z pen., 85. ČK: 18. Perc.
Group K:
Leskovac: Serbia – Latvia 2:1 (0:1)
Goals: 49. Katai, 60. Stankovič – 12. Gutkovskis.
Tirana: Albania – England 0:2 (0:0)
Goals: 74. And 82. Kane.
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