2026 FIFA World Cup — PORTO, Portugal — Lethal Portugal destroyed Armenia 9–1, and Erling Haaland’s Norway thumped Italy 4–1 in Milan to clinch automatic places. Nov. 16, 2025.
Bruno Fernandes and João Neves scored hat-tricks as Roberto Martínez’s team wrapped up top spot in Group F. The response came after Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off during a surprise 2–0 defeat in Ireland three days earlier, which had postponed qualification.
In Milan, Italy had taken an early lead before Antonio Nusa’s response and two from Haaland, with Jørgen Strand Larsen adding a fourth in added time. Norway’s statement victory is recorded here: Italy 1–4 Norway.
“The most important thing was to secure a place in the World Cup,” Neves said, crediting squad depth after Portugal’s record victory.
Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso apologized to fans and pledged to “find a solution” after admitting that “4–1 is a heavy result.”
That Portugal sweep was consistent with a trend following September’s 5–0 victory in Yerevan, where Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice to ensure the Selecção kept rolling through European qualifying.
Norway’s rise had been bubbling for months, including a sobering June encounter with the Azzurri (3–0) and an 11–1 humiliation of Moldova, in which Haaland plundered five goals (match report).
Italy will now contest the March playoffs for the third consecutive year. Meanwhile, Europe’s road to Qatar 2026 ran from March through November 2025; see UEFA’s full fixtures and results here.
Context: Portugal had already routed Armenia 5–0 earlier in qualifying, as mentioned above, and Norway’s resurgence comes after a string of near misses. For Italy, the playoffs represent another rite of passage in a cycle of anxiety that began with the 2018 exit to Sweden and has repeated itself since, as ESPN (2017) and The Guardian (2022) chronicled at the time.
Then, in 2026, when the World Cup returns to American soil, it will welcome Portugal and another resurgent football nation, Norway — headliners once again, at long last.
