Armenia 0-5 Portugal Highlights, FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers: Ronaldo, Felix score braces for five-star Portugal
Armenia 0-5 Portugal Highlights, FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers: Ronaldo, Felix score braces for five-star Portugal
No stoppage time from referee Anthony Taylor, and that caps a five-star performance from Portugal. It went ahead early on through Joao Felix’s header, before Cristiano Ronaldo doubled the Portuguese lead. Joao Cancelo then added a third before half-time to all but seal victory inside 45 minutes.
Ronaldo’s stunner 45 seconds after the restart made it four, before Felix’s slightly fortunate finish added a fifth as the game fizzled to a tame ending. That will matter little to Portugal though, which has produced a statement performance to kick off its World Cup qualifying campagin.
Armenia makes an error playing out from the back, and Bruno Fernandes has a free-kick inside the D. He sends it straight into the wall, and it spins away.
A slew of fouls now as the game peters out. It has been a dominant performance from the away side tonight, and it will take plenty of positives away from this.
Brilliant acrobatic save from Henri Avagyan to keep it at five! Vitinha lifts in a delicious ball, and Ramos gets a toe on it. The ball seems to be spinning away from the Armenian goalkeeper, but he throws himself at full stretch to keep it out.
Edgar Sevikyan has a spectacular goal inside, cutting in on his left foot and looking to whip the ball into the top corner. He’s not too far away, but he can’t quite manage to get the dip on it.
Joao Cancelo has pulled the strings all night, and he picks out another outstanding cross-field pass that nearly results in a goal. It has mostly gone down to walking pace now.
There’s now a lengthy delay as Diogo Costa is down needing treatment.
A nice little passage of play from Armenia ends with Diogo Costa doing well to get down low to his left and keep out a low, driven shot. Nice play from Armenia, which will still want a consolation goal tonight.
Ambition from Tigran Barseghyan, who lines up a free-kick from about 35 yards out, and drills it Roberto Carlos-style towards goal. No trouble for Diogo Costa in the Portuguese net, but it is a shot on target.
Did he mean that? I’m saying no, Joao Felix will definitely say yes. More neat interchange from Portugal works Goncalo Ramos into space in the box. Ramos squares the ball to Joao Felix, who gets his timing either absolutely perfect or horribly wrong. The ball deflects off his knee and loops into the far corner for his second of the night, and Portugal’s fifth of the night.
Somebody take a shot! Joao Cancelo finds Joao Felix with a lovely reverse pass, and about three Portuguese attackers reject the opportunity to pull the trigger inside the box.
There is no hattrick for Ronaldo tonight, as Goncalo Ramos is on to take his place.
Tigran Barseghyan spots Diogo Costa loitering off his line and goes for the spectacular, but it is wildly off-target.
Down the other end, Joao Felix tees up Bruno Fernandes, but he drills it just wide.
It’s open season now for Portugal. It finds itself in a four-on-two attack, but somehow contrives to strike the post rather than find the back of the net, before Ronaldo heads over from a cross. This could get ugly.
Nearly five, and nearly the hattrick! Portugal earns another corner, and Ronaldo meets it. The contact is good, but not good enough, and it bobbles agonisingly wide of the goal.
45 seconds into the second half, and Cristiano Ronaldo has scored a screamer! The ball bobbles out to him 30 yards from goal, and he puts his foot through the ball, unleashing a rocket that swerves away from the keeper and nestles in the top corner!
Armenia makes its way out to the pitch ahead of Portugal as we wait for a resumption in the second half. Can it make a fightback in this match, or will this turn into a crushing defeat?
Two minutes added on here as Cancelo lifts in another dangerous ball that Nuno Mendes is inches away from getting on the end of. That proves the final action of the half.
It’s been a half of complete and utter domination from Portugal here, and it is well worth its three-goal lead at half-time.
Pedro Neto has, for my money, been the best player on the pitch in this first half. He swings in another brilliant ball, and it takes some last-ditch defending to keep another goal out.
A brief counter-attack from Armenia, but it amounts to nothing. Any early promise has flickered out pretty quickly here.
It’s well and truly one-way traffic now. Armenia can hardly get a touch on the ball, and Portugal is absolutely dominant. Nuno Mendes finds green grass to run into, before an Armenian defender comes around to cover.
This is turning into a route now. Joao Cancelo threads a ball through for Cristiano Ronaldo, who sees a shot well-smothered by Henry Avagyan. The ball loops up, and Joao Felix passes it back to Cancelo, who thunders a shot past the keeper to seal a third.
A lovely touch, as he dedicates his celebration to Diogo Jota.
Brilliant last-ditch tackle from Vahan Bichakhchyan to stop what would have been a magical third goal! Joao Felix and Cristiano Ronaldo produce a magical one-two to open up a shooting angle, but the midfielder gets a toe in to deny the shot.
Joao Neves was in the headlines for scoring two overhead kicks for PSG at the weekend, and goes close to pulling off another acrobatic finish from an absurd angle here.
Meanwhile, Erik Piloyan catches Neves late, and earns himself a yellow card.
It’s two for Portugal, and who else but Cristiano Ronaldo? This one is all about the ball from Pedro Neto, who cuts back onto his left foot and whips in a stunning ball for Ronaldo to tap home from close range. Great start here from Portugal.
A decent spell for Armenia after going a goal behind. No clear scoring opportunities for either side, but it has moved the ball around nicely and looked dangerous running into space. Can it convert some of this pressure into a chance or two?
Armenia looks for a quick response after winning a free-kick in a dangerous shooting position. Eduard Spertsian takes it, and it slams into Joao Cancelo before deflecting behind from a corner. Nothing comes of it, and Felix is on hand to boot it away.
An early breakthrough for Portugal, and it’s a Portuguese Al Nassr star that has the breakthrough! Maybe not the one you were expecting, but Joao Felix follows up his hattrick on his Saudi Pro League debut with a neat header from inside the six-yard box after Joao Cancelo stands up a lovely ball.
It’s been a fairly sedate start thus far. Armenia has settled into a resolute defence, and Portugal will need its star-studded attack to combine well break through it.
Portugal kicks the match off, and we’re underway! Can the Euro 2016 champions take it first steps towards securing a place in the FIFA World Cup 2026 tonight with a win?
A poignant moment before the match begins as both teams hold a minute of silence in memory of Diogo Jota.
We’re only minutes away from kick-off at the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium in Yerevan now. Cristiano Ronaldo leads his side out with a crying child next to him.
As per tradition, the national anthems of both sides have been sung with suitable gusto.
Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez announced a ‘23 plus one’-member squad for this set of FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Armenia and Hungary.
Martinez said that an extra spot was left vacant in the squad for striker Diogo Jota, who passed away in July in a road accident.
“This is the first training camp without Diogo Jota. We know what he meant to each of us. We want to honour his memory every day,” Martinez said.
“We will carry his spirit in our hearts. We will win for Diogo, for his brother André, as we always do for all Portuguese people. We will call up 23+1.”
Diogo Costa, Ruben Dias, Goncalo Inacio, Nuno Mendes, Joao Cancelo, Bruno Fernandes, Joao Neves, Vitinha, Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Felix, Pedro Neto
Henri Avagyan, Sergey Muradyan, Erik Piloyan, Georgy Arutiunian, Nair Tiknizyan, Iwu Ugochukwu, Eduard Spertsian, Kamo Hovhannisyan, Vaha Bichakhchyan, Lucas Zelarayan, Tigran Barseghyan
When and where will Armenia vs Portugal be played?
The Armenia vs Portugal match will be held at the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium in Yerevan, Armenia, on Saturday, September 6. Kick-off will be at 9:30PM IST.
Where to watch Armenia vs Portugal?
The Armenia vs Portugal match will be broadcast on the Sony Sports Network, and will be live-streamed on the SonyLiv channel.
Cristiano Ronaldo is back in action in Portugal colours as the country plays Armenia in a FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier.
Published on Sep 06, 2025
