Portugal 9-1 Armenia: Report, result, goals as Bruno Fernandes, Joao Neves hat-tricks helps hosts secure 2026 World Cup place without Cristiano Ronaldo
Portugal earned a place at the World Cup finals
Hat-tricks by Bruno Fernandes and Joao Neves helped Portugal power past Armenia to confirm their place at the 2026 World Cup as Group F winners in Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence.
Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes converted penalties in either half and struck from inside the box for the Selecao, who were without skipper Ronaldo in Porto because the five-time Ballon d’Or winner was suspended after being sent off in his side’s 2-0 defeat in Ireland on Thursday.
Eduard Spertsyan’s early equaliser briefly made the scoreline 1-1, but Armenia finished bottom of the section with five defeats and one win.
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Portugal vs Armenia: Selecao stroll to World Cup
Portugal only required a point to qualify but a 2-2 draw at home to Hungary followed by a forgettable night in Dublin – including a straight red card for Ronaldo – had raised questions about Roberto Martinez’s side and made the end to their campaign more complicated than they would have liked.
Armenia goalkeeper Henri Avagyan brilliantly tipped Bruno Fernandes’s shot against a post for the opener, the rebound falling for Renato Veiga to head in with seven minutes gone.
Visiting coach Iegishe Melikoan had said he wanted to see more fight from his team than they showed in their 5-0 home defeat to Portugal earlier in the group stage and the minnows drew level through a fine goal 11 minutes later, Grant-Leon Ranos showing his speed and skill to advance along the right before whipping in a cross for Eduard Spertsyan to tap in.
Artur Serobyan – a newcomer to the visitors’ line-up – then sold Avagyan short with a back-pass, allowing Goncalo Ramos to collect the ball, beat the goalkeeper and slot in with 28 minutes played.
Joao Neves opened his account for the evening with a beautiful finish 90 seconds later, meeting Bruno Fernandes’s lay-off on the edge of the box to rifle a low first-time shot past Avagyan and complete an intricate team move.
The Paris Saint-Germain midfielder then curled in a glorious, centrally located free-kick from distance, hitting the crossbar on its way in and ending any hopes Armenia might have held of a comeback.
Bruno Fernandes netted his treble with the next three goals during first-half added time and in the 51st and 72nd minutes, with Joao Neves firing in for his third with nine minutes remaining and Francisco Conceicao adding Portugal’s ninth from outside the box in the 92nd minute.
Portugal team vs Armenia
Goncalo Ramos, Nelson Semedo, Renato Veiga, Bruno Fernandes and Rafael Leao were the new faces for Portugal.
Portugal starting XI: Diogo Costa, Nelson Semedo, Ruben Dias, Renato Veiga, Joao Cancelo, Bernardo Silva, Joao Neves, Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha, Rafael Leao, Goncalo Ramos
Portugal substitutes: Antonio Silva, Diogo Dalot, Joao Palhinha, Carlos Forbs, Joao Felix, Jose Sa, Goncalo Inacio, Trincao, Matheus Nunes, Francisco Conceicao, Ruben Neves, Rui Silva
Armenia team vs Portugal
Forward Serobyan and midfielder Narek Aghasaryan came in for Armenia, who have now lost their last four internationals but scored for the first time on that run.
Armenia starting XI: Henri Avagyan, Erik Piloyan, Sergey Muradyan, Styopa Mkrtchyan, Nayair Tiknizyan, Narek Aghasaryan, Karen Muradyan, Eduard Spertsyan, Kamo Hovhannisyan, Grant-Leon Ranos, Artur Serobyan
Armenia substitutes: Ognjen Cancarevic, Georgi Harutyunyan, Karen Nalbandyan, Edgar Sevikyan, Zhirayr Shaghoyan, Narek Grigoryan, Arsen Beglaryan, Gor Manvelyan, Arayik Eloyan, Edgar Grigoryan, Gevorg Tarakhchyan, Artem Bandikyan
When is the draw for the 2026 World Cup finals?
The draw for the World Cup finals will take place on December 5 2025 at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, with the ceremony starting at 17:00 GMT (12:00 ET/ 09:00 PT).
The tournament runs from June 11 until July 19 2026.
2026 World Cup playoffs dates
The top team from each of the 12 European Qualifier groups proceeds automatically to the finals, which will be expanded to 48 teams.
The 12 runners-up in each group will join four Nations League teams in the two-legged play-off ties, which will be drawn from pots based on teams’ records during the campaign and take place on March 26 and 31 2026.