Portugal defeated Armenia at home 9:1 and qualified for the 2026 World Cup finals, while in the other match in Group "F" the Republic of Ireland won dramatically 3:2 away against Hungary and will play a play-off for the World Cup in North America, BTA reported.
The Republic of Ireland made a memorable late comeback and defeated Hungary 3:2 away, after twice falling behind in the score. Troy Parrott scored a hat-trick, having also scored in the victory against Portugal earlier this week.
The Irish remain second in the group with 10 points, ahead of the Hungarian team, who have 8 points.
Daniel Lukacs put the hosts ahead in the third minute of the match in Budapest, but Troy Parrott equalized from the penalty spot after a quarter of an hour of play.
Barnabas Varga restored the lead for Hungary in the 37th minute. The drama came in the 80th minute, when Parrott restored parity and gave hope to the "green".
In the sixth minute of extra time, the ball was crossed into the home team's penalty area, Liam Scales played it and it reached Troy Parrott, who outpaced the defense and scored for the final 3:2.
The Republic of Ireland has not participated in a World Cup since 2002.
Portugal, for its part, defeated Armenia at home 9:1. In the absence of the suspended Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes and Joao Neves scored a hat-trick for the Iberians. Two of the Manchester United midfielder's goals were from penalties. Gonzalo Ramos, Francisco Conceicao and Renato Veiga, who opened the scoring in the seventh minute, scored once each.
Eduard Spertsyan surprisingly equalized in the 18th minute, but after that the Armenians conceded eight unanswered goals.
Former CSKA player Jirair Shagoyan came on as a substitute for the visitors in the second half.
Portugal are top of the group with 13 points and will be participating in the World Cup for the seventh time in a row. The Armenians are in last place with 3 points.
The Republic of Ireland produced a memorable late comeback to beat Hungary 3-2 away after trailing twice. Troy Parrott, who also scored in the victory against Portugal earlier this week, scored a hat-trick.