Released on September 10th, 2025
Portugal won a 3-2 victory in Hungary in Tuesday’s UEFA World Cup qualifier, with João Cancello late to win the winner two minutes after the hosts were equal, taking control at the top of Group F with two wins.
The visitors came from behind thanks to a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo, but slipped three points when Cancello’s goal later admitted before saving the victory to increase his 5-0 success in Armenia on Saturday.
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Hungary took the lead in the 21st minute. Barnabavarga went into the box with an upright header before pulling out the level 15 minutes later through Bernardo Silva’s close range effort to Zusalt Najee’s perfect cross.
Portugal went ahead after Balga handballed Ronaldo’s flick-on in the area, and the 40-year-old buried his spot kick in the bottom corner.
The goal was to score Ronaldo level as joint scorer for the 39 World Cup qualifiers along with Guatemala’s Carlos Luis.
Hungary, who pulled 2-2 over Ireland on Saturday, appeared to have done the same in Budapest when Balga led the second night in six minutes, but the hosts couldn’t hold on.
Two minutes later, Cancelo attacked the shot for the first time from outside the area after Bernardo Silva passed, leaving the group’s top Portugal top with six points.
“It’s not easy if you’re behind. We lost to Germany and Spain (the international league) in June, but we managed to get back, so we showed a lot of characters,” Silva said.
“Today, we’re back against the tough team again, and we were able to still get the winner, even if they scored 80 minutes later.”
Armenia, who beat Ireland 2-1 on Tuesday, was second with three points, with Hungary and Ireland one point.
Double-digit victory over Norwegian registered Moldova
Norwegian Erling Haaland scored five goals and added Thelo Aasgaard instead, hitting the unfortunate Moldova 11-1 to take another big step towards World Cup qualifying for the first time since 1998.
Five games have been played, with the Norwegian top group I with 15 points, moving six points ahead of second place Italy, six points to get the match. Moldova’s worst defeat leaves them at the bottom of the group.
Group winners will automatically qualify for next year’s World Cup, but runner-ups will be the playoffs.
Haaland’s beautifully cushioned pass broke the deadlock that scored Felix Horn Myhre in a six-minute tap-in, and Martin Odegaard should have done that after two minutes, but he burned the ball from close range.
The Norwegians didn’t have to wait long for another goal as Haaland rivaled the house in the 11th minute, squealing loose balls in the box and cleaning up the far corner.
Haaland slotted his second home in the 36th minute to close out Norwegian counterattack and completed his hat-trick before halftime.
Moldova Keeper Christian Avram was forced to make him bigger, but Haaland recovered the ball and chipped brilliantly at the far post, making it 4-0.
Odegaard placed fifth in the first half resting time, with seven minutes in the second half Haaland attacked again, taking fourth in the header as Norway ran Riot in front of home fans.
On both sides of a unique goal by Leo Ostigard, Aasgaard attacked twice, scoring a hat-trick from the penalty spot before Haaland added the ninth goal in the 79th minute in the 5th World Cup qualifiers.
Aasgaard completed the defeat with a flick finish in the second half stop time, completing the unusual double-digit victory margin.
The UK controls Serbia
England took a big step towards automatic qualification for the World Cup, with captain Harry Kane taking an impressive 5-0 victory over Serbian main group K-Rivers.
Criticizing the home victory that had struggled over Andorra over the weekend, England created the best display under Thomas Tuchel, making the most of Timid Serbia’s display, and maintaining a 100% record in the group without acknowledging its goals.
Kane led the England opener from Declan Rice’s corner in the 33rd minute, and minutes later Noni Maduce scored his first senior international goal to double the lead.
Seven minutes after the break, it’s Ezri Konsa’s turn to open an English account and bring visitors closer to cruise control.
The Serbian night got worse from bad times when Nikola Milenkovic was sent off in the 73rd minute due to Kane’s foul and from the resulting free kick, Mark Guech arrived to make it 4-0.
Marcus Rashford concluded it with a late penalty after an Ollie Watkins foul as England took a 15-point lead from five games and a seven-point lead in Albania.
The first loss in the Serbian group came third with seven points and the match was won.
Group winners will be in next year’s final, with runner-ups taking part in the playoffs.
