France reached the 2026 World Cup with a 4-0 win over Ukraine on Thursday as the country marked the 10th anniversary of the 2015 Paris attacks, while Portugal were made to wait after losing 2-0 in Dublin as Cristiano Ronaldo saw red.<\/p>\n
Norway must also be patient after Italy struck late in Moldova to prevent them from stamping their ticket to next year’s tournament in North America.<\/p>\n
France’s victory came in an emotionally-charged Parc des Princes, which observed a minute’s silence to mark the 10th anniversary of the attacks in and around Paris on Friday, November 13, 2015.<\/p>\n
Most of the 130 people killed in the attacks lost their lives at the Bataclan concert hall in the capital, where they were attending a concert.<\/p>\n
But one person died near the Stade de France in the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, where multiple explosions took place as suicide bombers attempted to enter the ground during a friendly between Les Bleus and Germany.<\/p>\n
Didier Deschamps was the coach then and remains in charge now, with the approaching World Cup to be his final tournament before stepping down.<\/p>\n
“Given the context tonight, we are pleased to have put some smiles on faces by securing qualification,” said Deschamps.<\/p>\n
“We have fulfilled our objective. I understand that it is seen as normal that France qualify but we still had to go out and do it, so we are very proud.”<\/p>\n
Second-half goals by Kylian Mbappe and Michael Olise, as well as a first international strike for Hugo Ekitike, gave Deschamps’ side an unassailable six-point lead over both Iceland, who beat Azerbaijan 2-0, and Ukraine at the top of Group D.<\/p>\n
While France can now look forward to the draw for the finals, which takes place in Washington, DC, on December 5, Ukraine and Iceland meet each other on Sunday in a shoot-out to decide who continues on into the play-offs next March.<\/p>\n
– ‘Sad, disappointed’ –<\/p>\n
Portugal would have secured top spot in Group F with a win against the Republic of Ireland.<\/p>\n
But a Ronaldo red card for violent conduct when trailing 2-0 to a Troy Parrott brace meant Portugal remain on 10 points, three ahead of the Irish and two ahead of Hungary, who won 1-0 against Armenia.<\/p>\n
Portugal’s final group match will be against Armenia in Porto on Sunday, while Hungary welcome Ireland in what will likely be a clash for second place.<\/p>\n
Parrott headed the hosts into the lead on 17 minutes, before doubling up on the stroke of half-time.<\/p>\n
Ireland then dug in deep to frustrate their fancied opponents, whose task effectively became insurmountable when 40-year-old Ronaldo swung an elbow into Dara O’Shea’s back and was dismissed after a VAR review.<\/p>\n
Ronaldo, the men’s all-time top goalscorer in international football, could potentially miss the start of the World Cup if Portugal qualify, depending on the length of his ban.<\/p>\n
“We didn’t manage (to win), we’re sad and disappointed with what we did here today,” Portugal midfielder Bernardo Silva said.<\/p>\n
Despite romping to an Erling Haaland-inspired 4-1 win over Estonia, Norway will also have to wait until the final matchday to wrap up their berth at the World Cup.<\/p>\n
Forwards Alexander Sorloth and Haaland both netted doubles in the space of 12 second-half minutes earlier in Oslo, but the Norwegians had to wait on Italy’s later match against Moldova before they could be certain of topping Group I.<\/p>\n
The Moldovans looked to have done enough to send Stale Solbakken’s side to the finals, until Gianluca Mancini struck on 88 minutes to send Italy on the way to a victory that kept their automatic qualification hopes alive.<\/p>\n
Inter Milan forward Pio Esposito doubled Italy’s lead in injury time to ensure Sunday’s meeting between the Italians and Norway at the San Siro will be a blockbuster.<\/p>\n
Three points separate the pair but Norway hold an imposing head-to-head record over Italy after cruising to a 3-0 win in their encounter in June.<\/p>\n
“It wasn’t easy… We also knew that Norway had won, so it was a bit of a strange atmosphere,” Sandro Tonali told Sky Sport Italia.<\/p>\n
“It would mean a lot to us (to beat Norway), because it might not heal the wound, but it will help us push forward.”<\/p>\n
In Group K, already-qualified England beat Serbia 2-0 at Wembley courtesy of goals by Arsenal duo Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze, while Albania edged Andorra 1-0 to sew up second spot.<\/p>\n
nf\/iwd<\/p>\n
\u00a9 Agence France-Presse<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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