In the match at José Alvalade Stadium (Portugal), Ronaldo was chosen by coach Martinez to start. In the first half, Ronaldo played brilliantly, scoring two goals to help the Portuguese team lead Hungary 2-1. Ronaldo's goals were scored in the 22nd and 45+3 minutes. Before that, in the 8th minute, Attila Szalai opened the score for Hungary. However, the 3 points could not belong to the Portuguese team when in the 90+1 minute, Dominik Szoboszlai scored, sealing a 2-2 draw for the Hungarian team.

Ronaldo scored 2 goals but Portugal still does not have a ticket to the 2026 World Cup
PHOTO: REUTERS
The draw in this match caused Ronaldo and Portugal to temporarily "miss" the 2026 World Cup. Portugal is still at the top of Group F but only 5 points ahead of the second-placed team Hungary, while the two teams still have 2 matches left to play. The remaining matches of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Europe will have to wait until November 2025 to continue.
As for Ronaldo, his double against Hungary helped him make history, becoming the player with the most goals in World Cup qualifying (41 goals). Previously, the old record belonged to Carlos Ruiz - a Guatemalan player with 39 goals. Argentine superstar Messi is the third player on this list with 36 goals.
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Unlike Portugal, England had an easy match despite playing away against Latvia. After 90 minutes, coach Thomas Tuchel and his team won 5-0, thereby raising their total points to 18, leading Group K. At the same time, the "Three Lions" also became the first European team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup when they were 7 points ahead of the second-placed team, Albania.

England become the first European team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup
PHOTO: REUTERS
Asia has 2 more representatives, Africa has determined 9 teams for the 2026 World Cup
In Asia, the fourth qualifying round also ended in the early morning of October 15. In Group A, Qatar defeated UAE 2-1, thereby having 4 points, ranking first in the group and winning a direct ticket to the 2026 World Cup. Meanwhile, in Group B, Saudi Arabia drew 0-0 with Iraq. Although having the same 4 points, Saudi Arabia ranked first in the group and won a direct ticket thanks to a better sub-index than Iraq.Although they could not get a direct ticket to the 2026 World Cup, the opportunity is not yet closed for the second-placed teams UAE and Iraq. These two teams will play 2 play-off matches on November 13 and 18 and the winning team will enter the intercontinental play-off round (6 teams), competing for 2 play-off tickets in March 2026.

Saudi Arabia team reaches World Cup 2026 thanks to better sub-index than Iraq
PHOTO: REUTERS
Meanwhile, in the African qualifying round, Senegal (Group B), South Africa (Group C) and Ivory Coast (Group F) are the last 3 teams to win direct tickets to the 2026 World Cup. Previously, Africa had determined 6 teams including Cape Verde, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Ghana.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ronaldo-tam-lo-hen-world-cup-2026-chau-a-co-them-2-doi-gianh-ve-den-thang-185251015041830156.htm
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