The Portugal national team left no room for doubt in their debut on the road to the 2026 World Cup. With attacking and effective football, the Portuguese side thrashed Armenia at the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium in Yerevan, in a match where Cristiano Ronaldo and João Félix both scored braces. Under Roberto Martínez, the team reaffirmed its status as favorites in Group F, which also includes Hungary and Ireland.

Cristiano and João Félix lead the show

The scoring opened early with a header from João Félix in the 9th minute, after a pinpoint cross from the right by João Cancelo. Shortly after, Cristiano Ronaldo doubled the lead with a right-footed strike assisted by Rúben Neves. Portugal’s dominance continued with a third goal from Cancelo, who capitalized on a defensive error to make it 3-0 before the half-hour mark.

In the second half, Cristiano struck again with a powerful shot from outside the box to complete his brace and raise his career tally to 942 official goals, now just 58 away from 1,000. At 40 years old, the captain continues to pile up historic numbers that keep him at the very top of world football.

The attacking festival went on with substitute Gonçalo Ramos, who set up Félix for a spectacular backheel finish, sealing the forward’s brace for Al Nassr. With that, Portugal wrapped up a perfect night where their star players delivered with both goals and assists.

A shaky start for Armenia

While Portugal dominated at will, Armenia barely troubled goalkeeper Diogo Costa. Their best chances came from set pieces, with shots from Eduard Spertsyan and Hovhannes Harutyunyan, but neither hit the target or carried real danger.

The lack of attacking punch and defensive frailty exposed an Armenian side that will need major improvement if they are to compete in such a demanding group.

With this emphatic win, Portugal begins its World Cup qualifying campaign in strong fashion and now looks ahead to its next match against Hungary in Budapest on September 9. With Cristiano Ronaldo and João Félix in top form, Portugal’s ambition to return to the summit of international football remains very much alive.

Here are all the goals from the match: