Portugal Thrash Armenia 9-1 to Qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup

Portugal, 16 November 2025 - Portugal has officially booked their ticket to the FIFA World Cup 2025 after humiliating Armenia with an emphatic 9–1 victory, a match that reminded the world just how dangerous this Portuguese side has become.

Backed by a roaring home crowd, Roberto Martínez’s men continued their dominant run on home soil, delivering yet another statement performance that sealed their place on football’s biggest stage next year.

The match began with Portugal immediately showing intent.

They got off to a flying start when Villareal defender Renato Veiga opened the scoring in just the seventh minute, rising highest to head home a rebound right into the heart of the net.

The stadium erupted, but Armenia responded with surprising resilience.

In the 18th minute, Eduard Spertsyan produced a moment of brilliance, curling a beautiful effort to bring the visitors level and briefly silence the home fans.

However, parity did not last long.

Ten minutes later, Paris Saint-Germain striker Gonçalo Ramos punished a defensive blunder, restoring Portugal’s lead with a composed finish.

From that moment, A Seleção, as the Portugal team is popularly known, shifted gears entirely.

In the 31st minute, João Neves received a defense-splitting pass from Bruno Fernandes at the edge of the penalty area and fired a clean strike into the bottom-left corner, making it 3–1.

Neves was far from done—11 minutes later, he delivered one of the goals of the match, a sensational long-range free-kick that rocketed past the goalkeeper and kissed the post on its way into the top-right corner.