📝 World Cup qualifiers highlights: Portugal in trouble, France cruising | OneFootball

This Thursday's matchday has been crucial for wrapping up some of the qualifying groups for the 2026 World Cup and has brought surprises.

Let's take a look at the highlights of the day...

The star: Kylian Mbappé, 'The Unstoppable'

The French striker scored his 400th goal to unlock France against Ukraine and send them directly to the 2026 World Cup. His brace and an assist finished off the Ukrainians, who will now need to beat Iceland in the final matchday to reach the playoffs.

The surprise: Troy Parrott takes down Portugal

The AZ Alkmaar striker scored a brace against Portugal and leaves them facing a final against Armenia in the last matchday. Roberto Martínez's side will need to win to go through, or draw and hope for other results.

Meanwhile, with this victory, Ireland now depends on itself in the last matchday against Hungary, as a win would send them to the World Cup.

The anecdote of the match was Cristiano Ronaldo's sending off, who saw red in the 61st minute for an elbow—his first ever red card with the national team.

The disappointment: Italy on the way to another playoff

The 'Azzurri' have once again done their job, beating Moldova 2-0 with goals from Gianluca Mancini and Francesco Pio Esposito, but it looks like it won't be enough for them to qualify directly for the next World Cup.

Norway did their part by beating Estonia 4-1, making things more complicated for Gattuso's men.

If Italy wants to qualify directly, they will have to beat Norway by 9-0 or more.

Other results

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

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