World Cup qualification roundup: Hungary claim precious point in Lisbon
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo walks off the pitch after the 2-2 drawy against Hungary in Group F. Picture: Armando Franca/AP
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice but Portugal were pegged back late on as Hungary snatched a dramatic draw in Lisbon on Tuesday night.
Attila Szalai stunned the hosts early with an eighth-minute header from Dominik Szoboszlai’s delivery, but Ronaldo levelled midway through the first half, finishing from Nelson Semedo’s cross.
Deep in first-half stoppage time, the Portugal captain struck again — this time from Nuno Mendes’s assist — to send Roberto Martínez’s side in ahead at the break.
The brace saw Ronaldo claim another scoring record. He now has 41 goals in World Cup qualifiers, breaking a tie for 39 he had with Guatemala player Carlos Ruiz.
Portugal controlled much of the second half yet failed to kill off the game, even after a flurry of substitutions that saw Joao Felix, Bruno Fernandes, and Ruben Neves withdrawn. That wastefulness proved costly. In the 91st minute Szoboszlai, Hungary’s standout performer, lashed home from Daniel Lukacs’s pass to make it 2–2.
Portugal pushed for a winner, but Hungary held firm through six minutes of added time to claim a share of the points.
Portugal can secure a spot at the World Cup against Ireland in the Aviva Stadium next month, while Hungary will be confident of claiming the playoff spot when they face Armenia.
Meanwhile, Harry Kane helped fire England to World Cup qualification after a 5-0 win against Latvia on a night Thomas Tuchel was teased by fans.
Captain Kane returned from injury to score two first-half goals and continue his goal glut amid a remarkable start to the season, now with 21 goals in 13 games for club and country.
The two in Riga, which took his international tally to 76 and came after Anthony Gordon's classy opener, ensured Tuchel's side will be in North America next summer, becoming the first European team to qualify.
An own goal from Maksims Tonisevs and a late Eberechi Eze strike made it a night to remember in Riga.
Tuchel has done the first part of his job in getting England to the tournament and if they continue the upward trajectory shown in the last three matches, they will be contenders to win it, with the German facing the prospect of becoming the man to finally end 60 years of hurt.
That would certainly be enough to get him back in the good books of England fans, who teased him throughout the evening.
Taunts of "we sing when we want", "are we loud enough for you?" and a range of others came after the German criticised the Wembley atmosphere during Thursday's friendly against Wales. Former England international Gary Neville was also on the receiving end following his recent comments about "middle-aged white men".
Elsewhere, Italy beat Israel 3-0 at home thanks to a Mateo Retegui double and a late goal from Gianluca Mancini, securing at least a World Cup playoff berth amid tension between police and some demonstrators at a pro-Palestinian march.
Retegui put Italy ahead just before the break after he was fouled and converted the resulting penalty. He netted the second in the 74th minute by winning possession on the edge of the area, cutting inside and curling his effort into the top corner. Defender Mancini scored with a close-range header in second-half stoppage time to wrap up a comfortable win. Norway lead Group I on 18 points. Italy are second with 15.
Mikel Merino scored twice as Spain eased to a 4-0 victory over Bulgaria, maintaining their flawless start to World Cup qualification.
Merino opened the scoring with a header in the 35th minute and doubled Spain's lead in the 56th with another header. Bulgaria's woes deepened in the 79th minute when defender Atanas Chernev turned a cross into his own net while Mikel Oyarzabal completed the rout in added time, converting a penalty after Merino was brought down in the area.
Spain are on 12 points from four matches in Group E, followed by Turkey on nine points. Georgia sit third on three points.
Further afield, Qatar and Saudi Arabia both secured a spot at next year’s World Cup after clinching first place in their groups in the fourth round of Asian qualifying.
Qatar defeated the United Arab Emirates 2-1 and Saudi Arabia drew 0-0 with Iraq.
It marks the first time that Qatar, who lost all three group-stage games when they hosted the 2022 tournament, have advanced through qualification. Saudi Arabia, who will stage the 2034 World Cup, will appear for a seventh time next summer in North America.
“It’s amazing, an incredible day,” Qatar coach Julen Lopetegui told broadcaster beIN Sports.
Lopetegui now gets another chance to coach at a World Cup after he was fired by Spain just two days before the start of the 2018 tournament after he accepted the job as Real Madrid manager.
“For me, it’s one of the best days in my career,” Lopetegui said. “Today I think is one big achievement we have to enjoy.”
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