Portugal punish Armenia 5-0 in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers

Cancelo started and finished a move in the 32nd minute and Ronaldo scored from long range 50 seconds after half-time.

The relentlessness continued in Yerevan and it was no surprise when Félix scored his second goal in the 61st minute. Diogo Costa was tested only once with Armenia hardly looking like breaching Portugal’s defence.

Roberto Martínez and his side have three days to recover before taking on Hungary in Budapest.

One way traffic

Portugal dominated the early going and took the lead in the 10th minute. João Cancelo completely bamboozled Nair Tiknizyan and sent a pinpoint cross into the box where João Félix rose highest and headed home.

The crowd were cheering on the few occasions Armenia ventured over the halfway line, their spirits dented in the 21st minute when the Seleção doubled their advantage.

Pedro Neto’s cross from the right wing caught the Armenian defence napping once again, Cristiano Ronaldo taking advantage and beating Henri Avagyan from close range.

The domination continued and Portugal made it 3-0 in the 32nd minute. Cancelo dispossessed Erik Piloyan and teed up Ronaldo who tested Avagyan, the ball cleared to Cancelo who fired through traffic and found the back of the net.

Ronaldo and Félix score again

Francisco Trincão replaced Neto at the start of the second half which was less than a minute old when Portugal bagged a fourth goal. João Neves’ wayward pass deflected off Georgy Arutyunyan straight to Ronaldo who took a touch and smashed a shot that grazed Avagyan’s fingertips and nestled in the net.

Domination had evolved into an onslaught as Ronaldo volleyed Bruno Fernandes’ corner wide, Fernandes hit the post, Ronaldo headed Félix’s cross over the bar and Fernandes drilled a low drive wide.

Ronaldo made way for Gonçalo Ramos, Félix firing high before bagging another goal in the 61st minute. He played a 1-2 with Nuno Mendes before releasing Ramos who saw his cross take a touch off Sergey Muradyan, Félix following through, picking up the spoils and manufacturing an unorthodox shot that sneaked past Avagyan.

Armenia enjoyed their best spell of the game which was all instigated by Tigran Barseghyan, the captain firing two tame efforts at Diogo Costa before a better effort forced the goalkeeper to turn the ball wide.

That was about as good as it got for the home side, Roberto Martínez making two changes in the 66th minute when Nuno Mendes and Félix made way for Nuno Tavares and Pedro Gonçalves.

Gonçalves fired wide before João Cancelo made way for João Palhinha and Portugal created three late chances. João Neves got onto Vitinha’s cross but was denied by Avagyan, Ramos headed wide and the goalkeeper did well to recover and prevent a sixth goal after Gonçalves pounced on a shocking back pass from Eduard Spertsyan.

Convincing performance

Portugal produced a strong performance in Yerevan where they had 6.21-0.19 expected goals and could easily have exceeded five goals. The Seleção had never done it easy in three encounters in Armenia but this one was over by half-time.

João Cancelo made his first international appearance of the year and was in a league of his own during the opening 45 minutes, the right-back on another level to Armenia’s outmatched defenders. He combined well with Pedro Neto, bagging a goal and an assist before making way for João Palhinha late on.

PSG midfield duo João Neves and Vitinha controlled the game and Bruno Fernandes was quieter than usual before playing a more prominent role in the second half.

João Félix and Cristiano Ronaldo took their chances well and came away with two goals each. Both players have been cannon fodder for the fickle fans who must be disappointed to have nothing to hate for a while.

Ronaldo scored in a four consecutive game for Portugal since June 2021 and has now scored 10 goals in his previous 10 appearances for the Seleção, taking his international tally to 140 goals and counting. He made way for Gonçalo Ramos before the hour mark and should be ready to rock in Budapest.

Line Ups

Armenia (5-3-2): Henri Avagyan; Kamo Hovhannisyan, Georgy Arutyunyan, Sergey Muradyan, Erik Piloyan, Nair Tiknizyan (Edgar Grigoryan 79’); Eduard Spertsyan, Ugochukwu Iwu (Narek Aghasaryan 86’), Vahan Bichakhchyan (Edgar Sevikyan 60’); Lucas Zelarayán (Grant-Leon Ranos 60’), Tigran Barseghyan (Zhirayr Shaghoyan 79’)

Unused subs: Ognjen Cancarevic, Arsen Beglaryan, Albert Khachumyan, Erik Simonyan, Artak Dashyan, Hovhannes Harutyunyan, Artur Serobyan

Manager: Yegishe Melikyan

Portugal (4-2-3-1): Diogo Costa, João Cancelo (João Palhinha 79’), Rúben Dias, Gonçalo Inácio, Nuno Mendes (Nuno Tavares 66’); João Neves, Vitinha; Bruno Fernandes; Pedro Neto (Francisco Trincão 46’), Cristiano Ronaldo (Gonçalo Ramos 58’), João Félix (Pedro Gonçalves 66’)