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11/13 19:07 CST France qualifies for 2026 World Cup; Ronaldo sent off as
Portugal loses to Ireland
France qualifies for 2026 World Cup; Ronaldo sent off as Portugal loses to
Ireland
By KAREL JANICEK
Associated Press
Kylian Mbapp and France are going to the 2026 World Cup. And Cristiano Ronaldo
might be banned from Portugal's first game there if his team finally wins its
European qualifying group.
Two goals from star striker Mbapp helped two-time champion France to qualify
with a 4-0 home win against Ukraine on Thursday. But Ronaldo was ejected for
the first time in his international career and Portugal will have to wait until
Sunday to secure a qualifying spot for the seventh straight time after it was
stunned 2-0 by Ireland in Dublin.
Midfielder Michael Olise and substitute forward Hugo Ekitik added the other
goals in a dominant second half from France, the World Cup runner-up in 2022.
Mbapp sent the penalty straight down the middle to break the deadlock in the
55th minute before Olise turned inside the penalty area to curl home the second
goal in the 76th at Parc des Princes in western Paris. Mbapp poked in France's
third goal from close range in the 83rd following a goal-mouth scramble. Mbapp
moved onto 55 goals and just two behind Olivier Giroud as France's all-time top
scorer.
"The French national team will always be better with him in it," coach Didier
Deschamps said about Mbapp. "He makes things easier for us. He performed his
role perfectly this evening, as both a player and the captain of the national
team."
Mbapp went close to a hat trick moments later but blazed over after going
clean through.
France has won Group D with 13 points, Ukraine and Iceland are tied on seven
points and will play for second place when they meet on Sunday.
Ronaldo's 1st international red card Portugal will host last-place Armenia in the final qualifying game on Sunday, when Hungary hosts Ireland at the same time. Portugal tops Group F with 10 points, two ahead of Hungary. Ireland is third with seven points. Ronaldo was sent off for elbowing Ireland defender Dara O'Shea on the hour. The referee issued a yellow card but minutes later upgraded it to red after a video review. Portugal coach Roberto Martinez said he thought the ejection was "a bit harsh," pointing out that Ronaldo "has never been sent off before in 226 games." Ronaldo will serve a mandatory one-game ban imposed for any red card when Portugal plays Armenia. FIFA disciplinary rules require its judges to impose a ban of "at least two matches for serious foul play." Troy Parrott put the hosts ahead with a close-range header following a corner kick in the 17th minute against the run of play with Portugal dominant. Parrott added his second in the final minute before the break, beating Diogo Costa with a low shot from inside the area. Haaland's double Erling Haaland scored twice as Norway moved closer to qualifying for the World Cup for the first time since 1998 by beating Estonia 4-1 in Oslo. The win virtually secures a spot for the high-scoring Norwegians in next year's tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Italy had to rely on late goals from Gianluca Mancini and substitute Francesco Pio Esposito to win 2-0 at Moldova and is second in Group I, trailing leader Norway by three points. Italy will likely have to settle for the playoffs where the four-time World Cup champion was eliminated in the past two editions. It hosts Norway on Sunday and would have to win by a nine-goal margin to directly qualify because of Norway's vastly superior goal difference. Haaland has scored 14 of Norway's European-best 33 goals in seven group-stage games. The Manchester City striker was born two years after Norway last reached the World Cup. Still perfect England Already-qualified England continued to cruise. It beat Serbia 2-0 at Wembley Stadium to keep a perfect record in Group K and is yet to concede a goal. Bukayo Saka fired England ahead on a rebound with a left-foot volley in the 28th after an initial shot by Nico O'Reilly was blocked. Substitute forward Eberechi Eze added the second in the 90th off a pass from another substitute, Phil Foden. Albania beat Andorra 1-0 in the same group to secure the runner-up spot. ___ AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer |
