6 days ago
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No Cristiano Ronaldo, no problem for Portugal as Bruno Fernandes' hat-trick inspired them to a thumping 9-1 victory over Armenia to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
Fernandes missed Thursday's shock 2-0 defeat at the Republic of Ireland, a loss that saw Ronaldo sent off, due to suspension but made up for that on Sunday with a stellar display in Porto.
Deployed in his more natural No 10 position, rather than the deeper midfield role he plays in for Manchester United, Fernandes scored his country's fifth, sixth and seventh goals at the Estadio do Dragao.
The Portuguese playmaker got his first of the afternoon on the stroke of half-time from the penalty spot after Ruben Dias was fouled inside the box to make it 5-1.
Six minutes after the restart, Fernandes doubled his tally with a low strike.
On 72 minutes he completed his hat-trick with another penalty after Carlos Forbs was fouled.
Bruno Fernandes had plenty to celebrate on Sunday after scoring a hat-trick against Armenia
He scored two penalties within that hat-trick as Portugal qualified for the 2026 World Cup
He also scored this low strike as Portugal topped Group F with an emphatic 9-1 vs Armenia
The 31-year-old may have trouble securing the matchball though as Joao Neves also scored a hat-trick against Armenia - including a superb free-kick for his second and Portugal's fourth.
Portugal opened the scoring when defender Renato Veiga netted a close-range header in the seventh minute but they were stunned when Eduard Spertsyan converted a cross from Grant-Leon Ranos 11 minutes later.
It was only Armenia's third goal in the qualifying group having failed to score in their previous three games.
However, that Goncalo Ramos restored Portugal's lead on 28 minutes before Neves and Fernandes scored the next six goals between them.
The scoreline was completed in second-half stoppage-time when Francisco Conceicao drilled home a long-range strike.
The victory sees Portugal top Group F on 13 points from six games as they can look forward to next year's World Cup finals in Canada, Mexico and the United States of America.
'The most important thing was qualifying for the World Cup,' a delighted Neves told RTP post-match after scoring his first goals for his country at senior level.
'For me, as I always say, the team always comes before the individual.
'I'm very happy to have scored my first goal for the national team, and my second and third as well. I'm happy to be able to share the pitch with great players and a great team.'
