🌍 France secure Copa spot, Portugal still dreaming and Italy need a miracle | OneFootball

Eight matches continued the European Qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup this Thursday (13).

In the first three games of the day, Hungary, Iceland, and Norway defeated Armenia (1-0), Azerbaijan (2-0), and Estonia (4-1), respectively.

Later, with England already qualified for the World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico next year, France and Portugal had the chance to stamp their tickets.

Italy and Albania also took the field needing a win to keep their dreams of the 2026 World Cup alive.

See below for a brief summary of the matches and the situation of each team.

Andorra 0 x 1 Albania

Even away from home, Albania secured the win with Kristian Asllani, after a beautiful assist from Myrto Uzuni in the second half.

With this result, Albania reached 14 points and secured second place in Group K, no longer able to be caught by Serbia (10 points) and therefore heading to the playoffs.

With a 100% record, England was already qualified. Latvia (5 points) and Andorra, just like Serbia, have no chances of going to the 2026 World Cup. 

France 4 x 0 Ukraine

Playing at Parc des Princes in Paris, Mbappé – from the penalty spot – opened the scoring for the two-time world champions at the start of the second half.

With the comfort of the lead, the French extended their advantage with goals from Olise, Mbappé, and Ekitiké.

With 13 points, France secured first place in Group D, no longer able to be caught by Iceland and Ukraine – both with seven points.

In the final round, France will play away against Azerbaijan, while Ukraine hosts Iceland needing a win, since they are behind in the standings due to a lower goal difference (+4 x -3).

England 2 x 0 Serbia

Still in the first half, Saka gave the advantage to the 1966 world champions, and Eze sealed the score in the final minute of the game, ensuring a 100% record in the Qualifiers.

England leads Group K with 21 points and ends its qualifying campaign away to Albania, who have secured a playoff spot.

Ireland 2 x 0 Portugal

Ireland needed just 45 minutes to secure victory over Portugal with two goals from Parrott.

In the second half, Cristiano Ronaldo’s red card – after VAR review – made things even more complicated for the Portuguese side.

Even with the defeat, Portugal remains top of Group F with 10 points. Hungary (8 points) and Ireland (7 points) follow. Armenia (3 points) is already eliminated.

In the final round, Portugal hosts Armenia and needs a simple win to secure a spot in the 2026 World Cup. In case of a draw, the Portuguese will depend on the result of Hungary vs Ireland.

Hungary and Ireland, by the way, still dream of direct qualification for the World Cup.

Moldova 0 x 2 Italy

The four-time world champions Italy continue to struggle to return to the World Cup – something that hasn’t happened since 2014.

When the “disastrous” draw seemed imminent, Dimarco crossed from the left, and Gianluca Mancini dove in with a header to open the scoring. 

In stoppage time, Esposito headed in Politano’s cross to extend the lead for the Azzurri.

With this result, Italy reached 18 points and still dreams of leading Group I – currently led by Norway (21 points).

Italy, in fact, will host Norway at San Siro in the final round of the Qualifiers.

The problem is the goal difference, which favors the Norwegians (29 x 12).

Israel (9 points), Estonia (4 points), and Moldova (1 point) complete the group.

All the qualified teams 👇🏽

AFC - Asia

🇦🇺 Australia - 🇰🇷 South Korea - 🇮🇷 Iran - 🇯🇵 Japan - 🇯🇴 Jordan (debut) - 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan (debut) - 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia - Qatar 🇶🇦

CAF - Africa

🇲🇦 Morocco - 🇹🇳 Tunisia - 🇩🇿 Algeria - 🇪🇬 Egypt - 🇬🇭 Ghana - 🇨🇻 Cape Verde (debut) - 🇿🇦 South Africa - 🇸🇳 Senegal - 🇨🇮 Ivory Coast 

Concacaf - Central and North America

🇨🇦 Canada (host nation) - 🇺🇸 United States (host nation) - 🇲🇽 Mexico (host nation)

Conmebol - South America

🇦🇷 Argentina - 🇧🇷 Brazil - 🇨🇴 Colombia - 🇪🇨 Ecuador - 🇵🇾 Paraguay - 🇺🇾 Uruguay

Europe

🏴England and 🇫🇷 France

OFC - Oceania

🇳🇿 New Zealand

Allocation of spots

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

📸 FRANCK FIFE - AFP or licensors