Harry Kane scored twice as England beat Latvia 5-0 on Tuesday to book their place in the 2026 World Cup, while Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal were forced to wait 2-2 to Hungary to seal their place in the final.
Elsewhere, pro-Palestinian demonstrations took place ahead of Italy’s important victory over Israel, while Spain took another step towards qualification with a big victory over Bulgaria.
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Thomas Tuchel’s England defeated Latvia in Riga to take six wins from six in Group K and secure top spot ahead of next month’s final two games. They have 18 points and have a seven point difference over second place Albania.
Anthony Gordon opened the scoring before Kane produced a deadly finish and then converted a penalty to make it 3-0 at half-time. The Bayern Munich striker has scored 21 goals in 13 games for club and country this season.
Maximus Tonisefs scored an own goal and Eberechi Eze added a fifth as England look forward to December’s draw for next year’s final.
“The atmosphere is very, very good because it’s not often that you qualify for the World Cup,” Tuchel said.
Portugal are held back by Hungary despite Ronaldo’s scoring record
All 12 European group winners qualify directly for the World Cup, with second place advancing to the play-offs.
Serbia fought back against Andorra and won 3-1, leaving them one point behind Albania.
Guillaume López gave Andorra the lead with a stunning shot from inside the center circle and over Serbian goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic.
Serbia equalized through Cristian Garcia’s own goal, then Dusan Vlahovic headed home and Aleksandar Mitrovic converted a penalty.
Portugal led Hungary 2-1 in stoppage time in Lisbon and looked on the verge of clinching their ticket to first place in Group F with a win.
Hungary took the lead with a header from Attila Šalai, but Ronaldo equalized midway through the first half with a driven cross from Nelson Semedo.
Ronaldo then converted Nuno Mendes’ cross to give Portugal the lead in first-half stoppage time, giving the 40-year-old Al Nasr superstar an international record of 143 goals in 225 appearances for his country.
He currently holds the record for most goals scored in a World Cup qualifier with 41, two ahead of retired Guatemalan international Carlos Ruiz’s 39 goals.
However, Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai scored from close range in stoppage time to give Hungary a draw.
In other words, Hungary maintains a five-point lead over Portugal with two games remaining and could still qualify for the top spot in Group F. Ireland, who won 1-0 against Armenia after Evan Ferguson’s header saw Tigran Barseghyan sent off, could also theoretically finish at the top of the table.
Protests in Italy after Israel loses in qualifying
Talks between Italy and Israel in Udine began with clashes between some pro-Palestinian demonstrators and police, with thousands of people peacefully marching through the northern Italian city, angered by the holding of a match they felt should not have taken place.
There have been calls for FIFA to exclude Israel from international competitions following two years of brutal Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack carried out by Hamas on October 7, 2023.
Massive security was in place around the Brunagy Stadium, which hosted the Group I match, which Italy won 3-0. Israel’s defeat ended their bid to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
The Azzurri are desperate to qualify for the World Cup, having failed to qualify in the last two tournaments.
Mateo Letegui converted a penalty in first-half stoppage time and scored again in the 74th minute with a fine shot.
Gianluca Mancini’s late header from a three-pointer ensured Italy at least finished second in the group, moving within three points of leaders Norway with two games in hand.
The two teams will face each other next month, but Norway still has a chance of finishing top of the table as they have the advantage on goal difference. On Tuesday, Estonia and Moldova drew 1-1 in the same group.
European champions Spain defeated Bulgaria 4-0 in Valladolid to take their fourth win in Group E.
Mikel Merino scored two headed goals, taking his tally to six in four qualifying games. Atanas Chernev scored an own goal and Mikel Oyarzabal converted a late penalty.
Merino told Spanish television: “We have a long way to go until we qualify for the World Cup, but it’s not over yet…We want to keep winning.”
Melih Demiral scored twice for Spain, who now have a three-point lead over Turkiye, who defeated Georgia 4-1 at home. Kenan Yildiz and Yunus Akgun also scored.
