World qualifying results: France advanced with a big win, Italy retained hope of passing through, Portugal was delayed

The French team defeated Ukraine in an emotional atmosphere and successfully secured a ticket to the World Cup; Norway easily defeated Estonia, but then Italy defeated Moldova in stoppage time in the away game, adding variables to Norway's path to qualifying.

Portugal had a chance to qualify for the 2026 World Cup simultaneously, but lost to the Republic of Ireland in an away game and Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off with a red card in the second half.

In other games, England continued its unbeaten record and defeated Serbia, Albania secured the runner-up spot in Group K, and Hungary and Iceland defeated Armenia and Azerbaijan in away games respectively.

Group D

Azerbaijan 0-2 Iceland

Iceland goals: Gudmundsson (20 minutes), Ingi Ingasson (39 minutes)

With an easy victory, Iceland surpassed Ukraine and rose to second place in the group, while Azerbaijan was eliminated. The visiting team took the lead to break the deadlock, Isaac Bergman Johannesson sent a wonderful through ball, Albert Gudmundsson controlled the ball with his right foot and scored with his left foot. Subsequently, Johann Berg Gudmundsson, who reached the milestone of 100 games for the national team, sent a cross, and defender Sviril Ingi Ingasson scored with a header, expanding the score to 2-0.

France 4-0 Ukraine

France goals: Mbappe (55th minute penalty, 83rd minute), Olise (76th minute), Ekitic (88th minute)

Kylian Mbappe led the French team to the World Cup on an emotional night at the Parc des Princes in Paris, a night when the French nation commemorated the 10th anniversary of the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks. Facing Ukraine's tenacious defense, the French team could not attack for a long time until Tarash Mikhavko fouled Michael Olise, and Mbappe broke the deadlock with a textbook Panenka penalty kick. Since then, the French team has been on the offensive. Bayern Munich players Olise, Mbappe and Hugo Ekitic who came on the bench have scored successively.

Group F

Armenia 0-1 Hungary

Hungary goal: Varga (33 minutes)

Hungary consolidated its second place in Group F with a narrow victory in Yerevan, while Armenia completely lost hope of qualifying. Marco Rossi's side scored the only goal of the game: Dominik Szoboszlai crossed from the left, and Barnabas Varga beat the defender and headed the ball past Armenian goalkeeper Henry Avajian into the net.

Ireland 2-0 Portugal

Ireland goal: Parrott (17 minutes, 45 minutes)

Troy Parrott became the hero of Ireland. With this victory, the team was only 1 point away from Hungary, which ranked second in the group. In the next round, they will challenge Hungary away from home. The AZ Alkmaar striker headed in from close range before cutting inside from a long pass and slotting the ball into the bottom left corner to send Ireland into ecstasy.

After that, the Portuguese team controlled possession, but after one hour of the game, Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off for elbowing Dara O'Shea, and the team's task of tying the ball became more difficult.

Group I

Norway 4-1 Estonia

Norway goals: Sorlot (50 minutes, 52 minutes), Haaland (56 minutes, 62 minutes)

Estonia goals: Salma (64 minutes)

Alexander Sorlot and Erling Haaland both scored twice, helping Norway just one step away from its first World Cup trip in 28 years. Sander Berg set up the first goal with a superb cross, followed by Julian Ryerson with consecutive assists and David Möller-Wolf adding another. Robbie Salma scored a consolation goal for Estonia with a brilliant crotch shot. After this campaign, the Italian team will need to create a miracle if they want to prevent Steli Solbakken's team from winning the championship.

Moldova 0-2 Italy

Italian goals: Mancini (88 minutes), Esposito (90+3 minutes)

The Italian team retains the theoretical hope of directly advancing to North America. After wasting many shooting opportunities, Gianluca Mancini and Francesco Esposito scored with headers before the end, and Gennaro Gattuso's Azzurri took all three points in Chisinau. Despite this, the Italian team still needs to beat Norway by 9 goals in the final round to avoid finishing second in the group and entering the UEFA Nations League play-offs. In the previous two World Cup qualifiers, Italy lost to Sweden and North Macedonia in the play-offs respectively and missed the main match.

Group K results

Andorra 0-1 Albania

Albania goal: Aslani (67 minutes)

With a narrow victory in Andorra and Serbia's loss to England, Albania locked in a spot in the UEFA Nations League play-offs. Near the end of the first half, Albania captain Berat Gimsti's header hit the crossbar and missed the first great opportunity of the game. Albania finally broke the deadlock: Mirto Uzuni responded, and Kristiyan Aslani scored with a right-footed shot, giving the team a valuable three points.

England 2-0 Serbia

England goals: Saka (28 minutes), Eze (90 minutes)

The England team, which has advanced in advance, has extended its winning streak to 7 games and has not conceded a goal in the qualifying rounds. Amid jubilant Wembley Stadium, Bukayo Saka scored the first goal with a deft side volley and Thomas Tuchel brought on Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden as substitutes in the second half. Foden teamed up with another substitute, Eberechi Eze, to score the second goal before the end. With Albania's victory over Andorra, Serbia has been unable to finish second in the group.

Post-match interview

"You have to cherish the good times, which is never easy, although I can understand why people say it is natural for France to advance.. Our goal is to advance in this dignified and tense atmosphere at the Parc des Princes in Paris. The team responded very well after struggling against a dense defense in the first half. After that we let go and that was the key to victory or defeat. We are very proud. ” - Didier Deschamps, France coach

“We are very proud to be here. We try to be restrained because that's not the most important thing tonight. We won't be celebrating in the dressing room, but here, with the fans, we have to keep our wits about us and remember that the most important thing about today is the commemoration. ” - Kylian Mbappe, France captain

“It’s great, it’s a great achievement. Overall, I think we deserve promotion. Our style of play wasn't necessarily the best, but we got the result the team deserved. Mission accomplished. We were also remembering what happened ten years ago, so our celebration was low-key. We are very happy, this is a great achievement. ”——Hugo Ekitic, forward of the French team (interviewed with TF1)

Explanation of qualifying rules

The first stage of the European preliminaries adopts the regular season system. There are 4 or 5 teams in each of the 12 groups, and the group leader Directly qualify for the World Cup. The remaining 4 spots in the European region will be determined through the UEFA Nations League play-offs involving 16 teams. The participating teams include the runner-up of the 12 groups and the 4 highest-ranked teams in the UEFA Nations League