Portugal v Armenia: Four Benfica goals send Seleção to 2026 World Cup | OneFootball

The national team delivered an old-fashioned thrashing in the Portugal - Armenia match, to secure direct qualification for the 2026 World Cup. In a game played at the Estádio do Dragão, on Sunday afternoon, the Portuguese triumphed 9-1, with a lot of Benfica influence, in response to the defeat against Ireland.

Although António Silva started on the bench, there were several players with connections to Benfica on the match sheet. João Félix also began off the starting 11. From the start, the starting roles of Nélson Semedo, Ruben Dias, João Cancelo, João Neves, Bernardo Silva, and Gonçalo Ramos were noteworthy.

Regarding the game, it was a one-sided match. The national team opened the scoring through Renato Veiga but allowed an equalizer shortly after. From then on, it was all Portugal, with Armenia showing no ability to respond. Gonçalo Ramos, Bruno Fernandes, and a brace from João Neves pushed the score to 5-1 at halftime.

In the second half, more of the same. Portugal came out strong again, giving Armenia no chance. Bruno Fernandes scored twice in the second 45 minutes, and João Neves completed his hat-trick before Francisco Conceição sealed the Portuguese rout with a 9-1 victory.

With this result, the Portuguese team secures first place in Group F of the European qualification for the World Cup. The team collected 13 points in six games, finishing three points ahead of Ireland, which moves on to the play-off. The Portuguese team, on the other hand, achieves direct qualification for the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in Mexico, the United States of America, and Canada.

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