Cristiano Ronaldo is heading to another World Cup.
Portugal sealed its place at next year’s tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico with a 9-1 rout of Armenia on Sunday.
Ronaldo missed the match in Porto because of suspension — but in his absence, Portugal ensured he would have the chance to appear at a record sixth World Cup.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner will be 41 by the time the tournament kicks off next June and Ronaldo recently said it would be his last shot at winning the one major title to elude him. Assuming he retains his fitness, he is expected to be part of coach Roberto Martinez’s squad, though he may yet be suspended for as many as two matches after being sent off in Portugal’s 2-0 loss to Ireland on Thursday.
That surprise defeat meant Portugal had to beat Armenia to be certain of top place in Group F and hat tricks from Bruno Fernandes and Joao Neves ensured there would be no slipup.
“Today we saw our team back to its best: committed, supportive and executing the game plan excellently,” Martinez told broadcaster RTP.
Hungary had the chance to overtake Portugal at the top of the group, but fell to a stunning late comeback from Ireland – losing 3-2 in Budapest.
Troy Parrott scored a hat trick — with an equalizer in the 80th minute and the winner coming in the sixth minute of time added on. Victory meant Ireland finished in second place and will advance to the playoffs.
History makers
Ronaldo and his great rival Lionel Messi will both appear at their sixth World Cup if they take part in next year’s tournament.
They will surpass greats like Germany’s Lothar Mattheus, who appeared in five.
Defending champion Argentina has already secured its place.
Messi fulfilled his career-long ambition by leading Argentina to the title in Qatar in 2022.
Ronaldo, who has won the European Championship and two Nations League titles with Portugal, is still to add a World Cup to a trophy haul that includes five Champions Leagues and league titles in England, Spain and Italy.
Though he is nearing the end of his career and has left top-flight European soccer behind to play in Saudi Arabia, he has continued to further embellish his remarkable career.
He led Portugal to the Nations League earlier this year and last month became the leading scorer in World Cup qualifying games with 41 goals.
Suspension denied him the chance to add to that tally Sunday, but there was no shortage of goals from Portugal in his absence.
Fernandes’ hat trick included two penalties. Neves struck twice in the first half and completed his treble with a goal in the 81st.
Ireland comeback
An unforgettable week for Ireland was capped off with a dramatic fightback in Hungary and a place in the playoffs.
Parrott’s late winner was his fifth goal in two games to seal second place for the Irish.
He struck both goals in the 2-0 win over Portugal and with Ireland trailing 2-1 going into the 80th minute at the Puskas Arena, he proved his country’s hero again.
First, he lifted the ball over Hungary goalkeeper Denes Dibusz to level the match at 2-2 and with the clock running down, he converted from close range for the winner deep into added time.
Perfect England
England ended its qualifying campaign with a 100% record by beating second-placed Albania 2-0.
England won its eight games in Group K and didn’t concede a single goal.
The Three Lions’ all-time leading scorer Harry Kane got both goals Sunday to extend his record to 78. The Bayern Munich forward struck twice in eight minutes in the second half to break Albania’s resistance.
Victory ended Thomas Tuchel’s first qualifying campaign as coach in perfect style after the German was hired to lead England at the World Cup, with the challenge of ending its decades-long wait for a major trophy.
Ukraine makes playoffs
Ukraine finished second in Group D and is through to the playoffs after beating Iceland 2-0.
Group winner France beat Azerbaijan 3-1, having gone behind after four minutes to Renat Dadashov’s opener.
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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
By JAMES ROBSON
AP Soccer Writer
