WC qualifiers: Haaland grabs hat trick; Ronaldo’s goalless for Portugal

Erling Haaland further enhanced his superstar reputation with a hat trick for Norway in a 5-0 home win against Israel while Cristiano Ronaldo drew a blank as Portugal beat Ireland 1-0 in World Cup qualifying on Saturday.
Haaland moved onto 51 Norway goals in just 46 matches, as Ronaldo failed to increase his all-time international men’s scoring record of 141.
Both players missed a penalty — Haaland even missed his retake — on a night when fluffed spot kicks seemed contagious but didn’t affect the outcomes. Spain’s Ferran Torres and Italy’s Mateo Retegui also had theirs saved.
European champion Spain beat Georgia 2-0 while Italy won 3-1 at Estonia to stop goal-hungry Norway getting too far ahead. Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma gifted a sloppy late goal to add to his blunders in recent years.
Spain stays in control
Spain tops Group E with nine points after a third straight win without conceding a goal.
Missing injured Barcelona prodigy Lamine Yamal, Spain took the lead midway through the first half thanks to Yeremy Pino.
Goal-scoring midfielder Mikel Oyarzabal made it 2-0 with a free kick midway through the second half.
Spain is three points clear of Turkey, which won 6-1 at Bulgaria with two goals from Juventus forward Kenan Yildiz.
Portugal takes command
Portugal’s late winner secured a third straight victory and a five-point lead over second-placed Hungary in Group F.
Rúben Neves scored a stoppage-time header to make up for Ronaldo’s 75th-minute penalty miss, which came when he blasted his shot straight down the middle and goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher stuck out his left foot to balloon the ball upward.
Kelleher then jumped up and punched his right fist in celebration while Ronaldo held his face in his hands.
Fans in Lisbon delivered a moment of applause in the 21st minute in memory of Diogo Jota, who wore that jersey number for Portugal. The former Liverpool forward died in a car accident in July along with his brother.
Neves is now wearing the No. 21 and has a tattoo on his left calf in honor of his late friend.
In the group’s other match, Hungary beat Armenia 2-0 with goals from Dániel Lukács and Zsombor Gruber.
Haaland becomes fastest player to score 50 intl goals
Erling Haaland has had a blistering start to his season for both Manchester City and Norway, bagging a hat-trick for the latter in its FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier win against Israel on Saturday.
The 25-year-old, however, had a rough start to the game after his early penalty was saved by Israel goalkeeper Daniel Peretz, but the referee ordered the spot-kick to be retaken for encroachment inside the area, only for Peretz to parry away Haaland’s second effort, reports Sportstar.