Portugal Norway England shine in UEFA World Cup qualifiers

Post by :

Photo:Reuters

Portugal won a thrilling 3-2 match against Hungary in their UEFA World Cup qualifying game on Tuesday. The match had lots of excitement and late drama. Joao Cancelo scored the winning goal just two minutes after Hungary had equalised, giving Portugal the victory and putting them at the top of Group F with two away wins in a row.

The game started with Hungary taking the lead in the 21st minute. Barnabas Varga scored with a header from Zsolt Nagy’s perfect cross. Portugal did not take long to respond, as Bernardo Silva scored from close range just 15 minutes later to make it 1-1.

Portugal then went ahead when Cristiano Ronaldo earned a penalty after Varga handballed a flick-on. The 40-year-old superstar calmly scored, making it 2-1. This goal also brought Ronaldo level with Guatemala’s Carlos Ruiz as the joint-top scorer in World Cup qualifiers, now with 39 goals. Ronaldo’s international career record also extended to 141 goals in 223 matches.

Hungary nearly caused a shock when Varga scored his second goal of the night six minutes before the end of the match, bringing the score to 2-2. But Portugal quickly responded, and Cancelo scored a beautiful first-time shot from outside the box after a pass from Bernardo Silva, giving Portugal a 3-2 win.

Bernardo Silva praised the team’s spirit, saying, “It’s never easy when we fall behind, but we showed a lot of character, just like in previous matches. Even when Hungary scored late, we managed to score the winner.”

With this victory, Portugal now has six points from two games. Armenia, who beat Ireland 2-1 earlier the same day, sits second with three points, while Hungary and Ireland each have one point.

Norway Crushes Moldova 11-1 with Haaland’s Heroics

In another World Cup qualifier, Norway had a remarkable 11-1 win against Moldova. Erling Haaland scored five goals and substitute Thelo Aasgaard added four more. The match started fast, with Felix Horn Myhre scoring the first goal from Haaland’s pass just six minutes in. Haaland then scored in the 11th minute and again in the 36th minute, completing his first-half hat-trick.

Martin Odegaard also scored for Norway before halftime, and Haaland added a fourth goal in the second half with a brilliant header. Aasgaard scored three times, including a penalty, and Haaland completed the 10-goal celebration with another strike. Moldova was left at the bottom of Group I with zero points after this heavy defeat. Norway, with 15 points from five matches, leads the group.

England Dominates Serbia 5-0

England also impressed in their World Cup qualifier, beating Serbia 5-0 in an away match. Captain Harry Kane scored the first goal from a Declan Rice corner in the 33rd minute. Noni Madueke then doubled the lead, scoring his first senior international goal.

After halftime, Ezri Konsa scored to put England comfortably ahead. Serbia’s troubles worsened when Nikola Milenkovic was sent off in the 73rd minute, and Marc Guehi scored from the resulting free kick. Marcus Rashford scored a late penalty to complete England’s dominant performance. England now has 15 points from five matches, leading Group K by seven points.

Portugal, Hungary, Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Cancelo