Portugal qualified for the 2026 World Cup following a resounding 9-1 victory over Armenia at the Estádio do Dragão in the final round of European qualifiers.
With this result, Portugal topped Group F in the qualifiers, ahead of the Republic of Ireland (who qualified for a playoff), Hungary, and Armenia.
Bruno Fernandes and João Neves each scored a hat-trick for Portugal, while Gonçalo Ramos, Renato Veiga, and Francisco Conceição also found the net.
Ronaldo was not on the pitch to celebrate, as the 40-year-old was sent off in Thursday’s defeat to the Republic of Ireland, his first red card for Portugal, and was suspended for the match against Armenia.
The suspension of Portugal’s captain, which has yet to be confirmed by FIFA, could see him miss one or more group stage matches at the 2026 World Cup.
Ronaldo left the Portuguese national team camp before the Armenia match and returned to Saudi Arabia, without disclosing the reason for his decision not to travel with his country for the World Cup qualifier, sparking considerable controversy regarding his relationship with the rest of the “Saharan” squad.
