London, Oct 16: England became the first country from Europe to qualify for the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday but Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal will have to wait after conceding a stoppage-time equaliser against Hungary.
England won 5-0 at Latvia, with captain Harry Kane scoring twice in the first half, to assure first place in its group with two matches to spare. The English, who will be appearing at an eighth straight World Cup, haven’t conceded a goal in six matches in qualifying so far under German coach Thomas Tuchel.
“Sometimes we make it look easy,” said Kane, who already has a total of 21 goals for England and Bayern Munich this season, “but these groups and games can be tough. … We talk about high standards no matter who we play against to keep the momentum, and that showed.”
Portugal looked set to join England in next year’s tournament in North America after two goals from the 40-year-old Ronaldo established a 2-1 lead over Hungary in Lisbon.
A win would have guaranteed Portugal a first-place finish but Dominik Szoboszlai made it 2-2 in the first minute of added-on time to leave second-place Hungary five points back with two games left.
Italy, which has failed to qualify for the last two World Cups, guaranteed itself at least a place in the playoffs after beating Israel 3-0 in a match laced with tension, played amid a hefty police and military presence, and preceded by a pro-Palestinian march attended by an estimated 10,000 people.
The match was placed in the highest risk category despite a breakthrough ceasefire deal that has paused two years of war in Gaza.
The second-placed Azzurri moved three points behind Norway, which has a much healthier goal difference. Both teams have two matches left next month, including a game against each other in Italy in the final round of qualifiers.
Spain stayed top of its group, three points clear of Turkey, by beating Bulgaria 4-0 to maintain its 100% start to the qualifying campaign.
Turkey also won, 4-1 at home to Georgia, and at least looks set for the spot in the playoffs.
