Without CR7, Portugal thrash Armenia and book spot at 2026 World Cup | OneFootball

Without Cristiano Ronaldo on the field, Portugal secured its spot in the 2026 World Cup this Sunday by defeating Armenia 9-1. The rout featured goals from Renato Veiga, Gonçalo Ramos, João Neves (three times), Bruno Fernandes (three times), and Francisco Conceição. Eduard Spertsyan scored the visitors’ only goal.

The Portuguese had missed the chance to qualify last Thursday, when they lost to Ireland 2-0. In that match, Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off and therefore did not play against Armenia this Sunday.

Standings Situation

Portugal finished the Qualifiers phase at the top of Group F, with four wins, one draw, and one loss, totaling 13 points.

On the other hand, Armenia ended the campaign in last place, with just one win and five losses, totaling three points.

📋 Match Summary

🔴🟢PORTUGAL 9 X 1 ARMENIA 🔴🔵 🏆 Competition: European Qualifiers 🏟️ Venue: Estádio do Dragão 📅 Date: November 16, 2025 (Sunday) ⏰ Time: 11:00 AM (Brasília time)

Goals

⚽ Renato Veiga, 7′ 1st half (Portugal) ⚽ Eduard Spertsyan, 18′ 1st half (Armenia) ⚽ Gonçalo Ramos, 28′ 1st half (Portugal) ⚽ João Neves, 30′ 1st half (Portugal) ⚽ João Neves, 41′ 1st half (Portugal) ⚽ Bruno Fernandes, 48′ 1st half (Portugal) ⚽ Bruno Fernandes, 6′ 2nd half (Portugal) ⚽ Bruno Fernandes, 27′ 2nd half (Portugal) ⚽ João Neves, 36′ 2nd half (Portugal) ⚽ Francisco Conceição, 46′ 2nd half (Portugal)

How was the match?

The first half was lively from the opening minutes. At seven minutes, Renato Veiga opened the scoring with a header. At 18, Eduard Spertsyan equalized for Armenia. Ten minutes later, Gonçalo Ramos put the Portuguese back in front.

João Neves extended the lead by scoring twice: at 30, with a shot from outside the box, and at 41, from a free kick. In stoppage time, at 48, Bruno Fernandes converted a penalty and took Portugal into halftime leading 5-1.

In the second half, Bruno Fernandes scored again at six and 27 minutes. At 36, João Neves completed his hat-trick after an assist from Nélson Semedo. To finish the rout, Francisco Conceição scored in the dying moments of the match.

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