Portugal bounced back from Thursday’s heavy defeat to Ireland to qualify, while Norway advanced for the first time since 1998.
Portugal booked their ticket to the 2026 World Cup with a 9-1 win over Armenia on Sunday. Meanwhile, Erling Haaland’s brace put Norway on the global stage with a 4-1 win in Italy.
Portugal, who were drawn away by Hungary in the previous tournament and then lost to the Republic of Ireland, secured the top spot in Group F for the third time with a landslide victory over last place Armenia.
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Star midfielders Bruno Fernandes and Joao Neves scored hat-tricks as the Portuguese ran riot in Porto in the absence of the suspended Cristiano Ronaldo.
Renato Veiga, Gonzalo Ramos and Francisco Conceição were also on the scoresheet.
“The most important thing was to qualify for the World Cup,” Neves, a key player at Paris Saint-Germain, told RTP.
“For me, as I always say, the team always comes before the individual. I’m very happy to be able to score my first goal for the national team and my second and third goals.”
Portugal will play in the World Cup for the seventh time in a row, which the Euro 2016 champions have never won.
“It’s the World Cup! Let’s go, Portugal!” Ronaldo posted on social media.
The striker could miss the start of the tournament depending on whether FIFA extends his suspension beyond the one-match ban imposed for the game against Armenia.
Ireland booked their place in the play-offs in their group thanks to Troy Parrott’s hat-trick goal in the 96th minute with a 3-2 win over third-placed Hungary.
Daniil Lukács took the lead for Hungary after four minutes, and Parrott equalized from 12 yards moments later.
Barnabas Varga’s 37th-minute goal seemed to be enough to seal Hungary’s second place, but 23-year-old Parrott scored his fourth and fifth international goal of the week.
Parrott was a hero in Thursday’s 2-0 win over Portugal, scoring twice, and once again equalized for Ireland with 10 minutes remaining in the Hungarian capital.
The AZ Alkmaar forward then sparked wild celebrations in Ireland with a knock-down of home side Liam Scales late in stoppage time to send Heimir Hallgrimsson’s side into the play-offs in March.
“It’s completely insane.”
With the visiting team’s overwhelming goal difference advantage, Italy needed a miracle to move past Norway in Milan and move into first place in Group I.
At San Siro, Pio Esposito’s early goal gave the home side a glimmer of hope, but Staare Solbakken’s men held firm and were unable to break through the stubborn Norwegian defence.
Antonio Nusa equalized an hour later and Haaland inevitably turned things around with two goals in 60 seconds. Jørgen Strand Larsen then scored in stoppage time to give Norway their eighth win out of eight races.
It will be Norway’s first appearance in the World Cup in 28 years.
“I’m happy, but more than that I’m relieved. There’s a lot of pressure and I feel it. But it’s fun,” Haaland, who has scored 16 goals all season, told TV 2.
“Words can’t describe it. It’s absolutely insane. The way we’re doing it is just incredible. It’s huge,” Martin Odegaard said.
Israel defeated Moldova 4-1, but finished six points behind second-place Italy, who will advance to the playoffs.
France booked a spot in next year’s North American tournament with a win over Ukraine earlier in the week, and a much-changed team wrapped up the campaign with a 3-1 victory in Azerbaijan.
Ukraine beat Iceland 2-0 with two goals from Oleksandr Zubkov and Oleksiy Futuriak in the final 10 minutes, taking second place in Group D.
England, coached by Thomas Tuchel, produced a perfect performance in the group stage, defeating Albania 2-0 and finishing the season with a 100 per cent record, scoring 22 goals and conceding zero. This is a European record for a team that has played six or more qualifying games.
Harry Kane, who scored two goals for England, told ITV: “I think (the team) is as good as it’s ever been.”
“If you look at the starting eleven and the players coming off the bench, I think we’re going to go into the tournament as one of the favorites.”
Albania have already secured second place, and in the other Group K match, Serbia defeated Latvia 2-1 in a dead rubber.
