Portugal secured its place in the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a dominant 9-1 victory over Armenia on Sunday, marking the second time the squad has scored nine goals under coach Roberto Martínez and notably without captain Cristiano Ronaldo.
The emphatic win at Estádio do Dragão in Porto saw midfielders João Neves and Bruno Fernandes each net a hat-trick, demonstrating Portugal’s offensive depth.
Renato Veiga, Gonçalo Ramos, and Francisco Conceição also contributed goals to the historic tally.
This commanding performance, delivered on the sixth and final matchday of Group F, confirmed Portugal’s qualification for the upcoming global tournament.
The previous nine-goal outing under Martínez was a 9-0 triumph against Luxembourg in September 2023 during the Euro 2024 qualifiers.
Ronaldo, Portugal’s all-time leading scorer with 146 international goals, was absent from both of these high-scoring matches due to suspension.
The 9-1 result also matches three previous 8-0 victories achieved by the Portuguese national team.
Portugal defeated Liechtenstein by an 8-0 margin twice, first in 1994 during Euro 96 qualifiers and again in 1999 for Euro 2000 qualification.
An 8-0 victory over Kuwait in a 2003 friendly remains a record for the team in exhibition matches.
The squad has also recorded five separate 7-0 victories, including an away win against Liechtenstein in 1995 and a neutral-ground triumph over North Korea at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Other 7-0 scores were against Azerbaijan, Estonia, and Andorra.