Paris: Portugal and Norway clinched their places at the 2026 World Cup on Sunday, advancing with emphatic wins in European qualifying.

Portugal sealed top spot in Group F with a dominant 9-1 victory over Armenia in Porto. With Cristiano Ronaldo suspended, midfielders Bruno Fernandes and Joao Neves stepped up impressively, each scoring a hat-trick. Renato Veiga, Goncalo Ramos and Francisco Conceicao added to the tally as the Euro 2016 champions secured a seventh straight World Cup appearance.

Ireland claimed the group’s playoff berth with a dramatic 3-2 win over Hungary in Budapest. Troy Parrott completed a hat-trick deep into stoppage time, overturning earlier goals from Daniel Lukacs and Barnabas Varga and securing second place for the Irish.

In Group I, Norway booked their first World Cup appearance since 1998 with a 4-1 win over Italy at San Siro. Pio Esposito gave Italy early hope, but the visitors — backed by disciplined defending — turned the match decisively in the second half. Antonio Nusa equalised before Erling Haaland struck twice in quick succession, taking his tally for the campaign to 16. Jorgen Strand Larsen rounded off the win in added time. Italy will now enter the playoffs.

Elsewhere, Israel defeated Moldova 4-1 but finished well behind the top two in Group I.

France had already qualified earlier in the week and ended their campaign with a 3-1 victory in Azerbaijan. Ukraine secured second place in Group D with a late 2-0 win over Iceland, courtesy of two goals in the final minutes.

England completed an impeccable qualifying run, winning 2-0 against Albania to finish with six wins from six, 22 goals scored and none conceded — the best defensive record in European qualifying for a team with at least six matches. Albania were already assured of second place. Serbia edged Latvia 2-1 in the group’s remaining fixture.