Harry Kane Fires England to 2026 World Cup as Ronaldo's Portugal Stumble Against Hungary:

England have officially booked their place at the 2026 World Cup following a dominant 5-0 win over Latvia on Tuesday, with captain Harry Kane netting twice in a confident display in Riga. Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal will have to wait to confirm qualification after a dramatic 2-2 draw with Hungary in Lisbon. Thomas Tuchel’s England side made it six wins from six in Group K, securing top spot with 18 points and an unassailable seven-point lead over second-placed Albania. Anthony Gordon opened the scoring before Kane doubled the lead with a clinical strike, and then calmly converted a penalty to make it 3-0 before the break. The Bayern Munich striker has now scored an impressive 21 goals in just 13 matches this season for club and country. Latvia’s misery continued in the second half when Maksims Tonisevs turned the ball into his own net, and Eberechi Eze added a fifth. With qualification now sealed, England can look ahead to December’s group stage draw for next summer's tournament in North America. “It comes rarely that you qualify for a World Cup, so the mood is very, very good,” said Tuchel post-match. While England celebrated, Portugal were left frustrated despite Cristiano Ronaldo’s historic performance. Ronaldo scored twice – first by turning in Nelson Semedo’s cross and then heading in a Nuno Mendes assist – to overturn an early goal from Hungary’s Attila Szalai. His brace took him to a staggering 143 international goals in 225 appearances, and he also now holds the record for most goals in World Cup qualifying with 41, surpassing Guatemala’s Carlos Ruiz. However, Hungary had the last word, with Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai netting a dramatic equaliser in stoppage time. The result means Portugal remain five points ahead of Hungary with two games remaining but have not yet mathematically secured top spot in Group F. Elsewhere in Group F, Ireland kept their slim qualification hopes alive with a narrow 1-0 win over Armenia, courtesy of a powerful Evan Ferguson header. Armenia were reduced to ten men after Tigran Barseghyan was shown a red card. Italy Secure Key Win Amid Pro-Palestinian Protests In Group I, Italy moved closer to qualification with a 3-0 win over Israel in a match overshadowed by political tensions and protests in Udine. Thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched through the city, protesting against the match being played due to Israel’s ongoing military operations in Gaza. Heavy police presence surrounded the Bluenergy Stadium, but the match went ahead as scheduled. Israel’s defeat means they are now officially out of the running for a 2026 World Cup spot. Italy, desperate to avoid missing a third consecutive World Cup, showed composure on the pitch. Mateo Retegui scored a brace, including a first-half stoppage-time penalty and a brilliant long-range strike in the 74th minute. Gianluca Mancini sealed the result with a late header. With two games left, Italy trail group leaders Norway by three points. The two teams will meet next month in a likely winner-takes-all clash. Spain Cruise as Qualification Nears European champions Spain continued their perfect run in Group E with a 4-0 thrashing of Bulgaria in Valladolid. Mikel Merino starred with two headed goals, while Atanas Chernev’s own-goal and a late penalty from Mikel Oyarzabal capped the win. “We don’t have much further to go to get to the World Cup, but it’s not done yet… I hope we keep winning,” Merino told Spanish media. Spain lead Turkiye by three points after the latter beat Georgia 4-1, thanks to a brace from Merih Demiral and goals from Kenan Yildiz and Yunus Akgun.

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