Latest European World Cup preliminaries: England advance with a big victory, Italy is chasing, Ronaldo breaks record again

After defeating Latvia, the England team secured qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup two games in advance; while the Portuguese team was tied in stoppage time by its opponent in the match against Hungary. The dream of promotion has not yet been realized, but Ronaldo still set a new record in this game.

In addition, Spain, Turkey, Italy, the Republic of Ireland and Serbia all won this round. As the final game of the qualifiers approaches next month, the promotion situation becomes increasingly clear.

Group E

Spain 4-0 Bulgaria

Spain goals: Merino (35th minute, 57th minute), Chernev ( 79th minute, own goal), Oyarzabal (90th+2 minutes, penalty kick)

Pedri is in great form, helping the Spanish team take another step towards the "North American Tour". The 22-year-old controlled the tempo and received a standing ovation from the Valladolid crowd when Luis de la Fuente replaced him midway through half-time.

At that time, there was no suspense about the outcome of the game: Mikel Merino's two goals gave him 6 goals in the 4 games in this group; Atanas Chernev accidentally scored an own goal, and Mikel Oyarzabal scored a penalty kick before the end, sealing an easy victory for the Spanish team.

Turkey 4-1 Georgia

Turkey team goals: Yildiz (14th minute), Demiral (22nd minute, 52nd minute), Akgun (35th minute)

Georgian team goal: Kocholashvili (64th minute)

The Turkish team staged a "shining first half" in Izmir and defeated the Georgian team strongly.

The home team had a perfect start: Kenan Yildiz received a long pass and shot past Georgian goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili. The Kocaeli Stadium burst into flames when Merih Demiral scored with a header from a corner kick, further igniting the atmosphere.

Willy Sagnol's Georgian side were three goals behind when Ismail Yuksek's shot bounced right at the feet of Yunus Akgun, who turned the ball home. Afterwards, Demiral replicated the way he scored the first goal: the defender overwhelmed the defender in the penalty area and scored with a header from close range, completing his brace.

The Georgian team finally received a consolation goal: Otar Kiteshvili cleverly passed the ball with a heel and assisted Giorgi Kocholashvili to score. However, the victory and points in this game belonged to the Turkish team coached by Vincenzo Montella.

Group F

Portugal 2-2 Hungary

Portugal team goals: Cristiano Ronaldo (22nd minute, 45th + 3rd minute)

Hungary team goals: Saloy (8th minute), Szoboszlai (3rd minute) 90+1 minutes)

Cristiano Ronaldo became "the leading scorer in the history of World Cup qualifying", but Dominik Szoboszlai's goal in stoppage time prevented the Portuguese team from "qualifying for the seventh consecutive World Cup finals".

Attila Shaloi opened the scoring with a header, causing the Lisbon stadium to become silent for a moment; but the 40-year-old Ronaldo received crosses from full-back Nelson Semedo and Nuno Mendes and scored twice, helping Roberto Martinez's team take the lead. Bruno Fernandez and Ruben Dias both hit the woodwork with their shots and missed the chance to expand the score, while Sauloi equalized for the Hungarian team after the half-time restart.

When Daniel Lukacs sent a superb assist and Dominik Szoboszlai scored, the gap between the Hungarian team and the Portuguese team was reduced to 5 points, and the Hungarian team still retained the hope of competing for a direct promotion spot in the group.

Ireland 1-0 Armenia

Ireland goal: Ferguson (70th minute)

The Republic of Ireland defeated the "ten-man" Armenian team at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin and won its first World Cup qualifying victory.

The visiting team captain Tigran Barsgoyan was sent off in the 52nd minute of the game, and then Evan Ferguson teamed up with Will Smallbone to score the only goal in this tight game.

Group I

Estonia 1-1 Moldova

Estonia goal: Kate (12th minute)

Moldova Team goal: Bodistnu (64th minute)

The Moldova team scored its first point in this qualifying round, giving new coach Lilian Popescu a "good start". This is also the first time the team has achieved a draw in a World Cup qualifying match since March 2021.

The Estonian team got off to a strong start in Tallinn: After getting the ball on the edge of the penalty area, Matthias Keite hit the dead center with a powerful shot, giving the team the lead. Popescu made substitutions at halftime, and substitute Stefan Bodistnu equalized with a long-range shot that deflected off the leg of Estonian defender Maxim Paskozy and into the net. The Moldova team then tried to hit the winner, but the Estonian team held on to the tie.

Italy 3-0 Israel

Italian team goals: Retegui (45th + 2nd minute, penalty kick; 74th minute), Mancini (90th + 4th minute)

Matteo Retegui scored twice, helping the Italian team defeat the Israeli team with a big victory and consolidate the second position in the group. This is in sharp contrast to the "chaotic score of 5-4" between the two teams last month.

The Israeli team took the lead in creating a threat: In the 28th minute, Mano Solomon's powerful shot was saved by Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.. After a slow start, the Italian team had a chance before half-time: Matteo Retegui was fouled by Matan Baltasha in the Israeli penalty area and he took the penalty kick to break the deadlock for the team.

Retgui then stole the ball from Stav Toril and curled the ball into the far corner to expand the score to 2-0. In stoppage time, Gianluca Mancini scored with a header to seal the three points for Italy.

Group K

Andorra 1-3 Serbia

Andorra goal: Lopez (17th minute)

Serbian goal: Garcia (19th minute, own goal), Forla Horovic (54th minute), Mitrovic (77th minute, penalty)

After Dragan Stojkovic resigned as coach, the Serbian team defeated Andorra with a comeback victory and reversed the decline in the qualifying round.

The home team created a surprise in the 17th minute: Guillaume Lopez found Serbian goalkeeper Djordje Petrovich from near midfield and scored with a super long lob. But their joy lasted only two minutes - Andorra defender Christian Garcia accidentally headed an own goal when taking a corner kick, and Serbia equalized.

The Serbian team continued to exert pressure. In the 54th minute, Dusan Vlahovic received a header from Filip Kostic's cross from the left, giving the team the lead. Captain Aleksandar Mitrovic converted a penalty kick with 13 minutes left to give interim coach Zoran Mirkovic his first win in charge.

Latvia 0-5 England

England goals: Gordon (26th minute), Kane (44th minute, 45th + 3rd minute, penalty kick), Tony Serfs (58th minute, own goal), Eze (86th minute)

Harry Kane continued his efficient performance, helping England advance to the World Cup with a "complete victory record" two games in advance.

The captain of the Three Lions scored two goals before half-time in Riga: the first was a powerful low shot from the edge of the penalty area, and the second was a penalty kick after being brought down in the penalty area.

Anthony Gordon opened the scoring for Thomas Tuchel's side before Maximus Toisevs scored an own goal just after half-time, with Ebereki Eze adding the icing on the cake. Jordan Pickford was virtually untested throughout as England have yet to concede a goal in this qualifying campaign.

Promotion rules

The first stage of the qualifying round adopts a familiar competition format: each of the 12 groups has 4 to 5 teams, and the first place in the group directly obtains a spot in the World Cup. The remaining 4 places in the European zone will be determined through the "16-team play-off". The participating teams include the 12 second-placed teams and the 4 highest-ranked group champions of the European Nations League.