First Europeans to the finish line: England secure WC spot
Reading Time: 3min | Wed. 15.10.25. | 09:47
The Three Lions dismantled Latvia 5-0 on the road and booked a ticket for their seventh straight World Cup, where Portugal and Spain may join them very soon
While the Africans fought decisive battles and completed the list of five teams that directly qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and four that will participate in the playoffs, European qualifiers gave us the first travellers to the USA, Canada, and Mexico - England!
Thomas Tuchel's crew demolished Latvia 5-0 on the road, becoming the first national team from the "old continent" to secure a spot at the World Cup, which will be their seventh straight participation.
🏴 England are headed to the #FIFAWorldCup again!#WeAre26 pic.twitter.com/B4H0C9DfGP
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) October 14, 2025
Anthony Gordon's opener and Harry Kane's brace sealed the deal for the Three Lions even before the break, while Maksims Tonisevs (with an own goal) and Eberechi Eze just confirmed the convincing triumph.
England were the first to the finish line, but could soon get a company embodied in Spain and Portugal.
La Furia Roja last night smashed Bulgaria 4-0 behind Mikel Merino's brace, Atanas Chernev's own goal, and Mikel Oyarzabal's dying-minutes spot kick, and kept a three-point edge over the second-placed Turkey. Still, thanks to a way better goal difference, Luis de la Fuente's crew's spot at the World Cup shouldn't be questionable.
On the other hand, Portugal are a win away from the USA, Canada, and Mexico. Cristiano Ronaldo and Co. could have finished the job last night, but they drew against Hungary at home 2-2.
CR7 netted a first-half brace - becoming the top scorer in World Cup qualifiers' history - and annulled Attila Szalai's early opener, but Liverpool's Dominik Szoboszlai spoiled the Navigators' party with a 91st-minute leveller.
🚨🇵🇹 Cristiano Ronaldo scores and becomes the player with most World Cup qualifiers goals in history!
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 14, 2025
947th career goal. ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/PPzWzPeUYj
Finally, despite a 3-0 win over Israel in Udine, Italy will hardly leapfrog Norway in the top spot of Group I. Due to the poor start of the qualifying campaign under Luciano Spalletti, the Azzurri will have to settle for second place and the playoffs.
Their last night's heroes were Mateo Retegui, who bagged a brace, and Roma's Gianluca Mancini, who scored his maiden Italy goal.
European national teams will end their qualifiers mid-November, when we'll get the remaining 11 travellers to North America and as many crews (plus four teams from the UEFA Nations League) that will join the Azzurri in the playoffs.
WC QUALIFIERS - EUROPE
Tuesday
Estonia - Moldova 1-1 (1-0)
/Kait 12 - Bodisteanu 64/
Andorra - Serbia 1-3 (1-1)
/Lopez 17 - Garcia 19 (og), Vlahovic 54, Mitrovic 77 pen/
Italy - Israel 3-0 (1-0)
/Retegui 45+2 pen, 74, Mancini 90+3/
Latvia - England 0-5 (0-3)
/Gordon 26, Kane 44, 45+3, Tonisevs 58 (og), Eze 86/
Portugal - Hungary 2-2 (2-1)
/Ronaldo 22, 45+3 - Szalai 8, Szoboszlai 90+1/
R. Ireland - Armenia 1-0 (0-0)
/Ferguson 70/
Spain - Bulgaria 4-0 (1-0)
/Merino 35, 57, Chernev 79 (og), Oyarzabal 90+2 pen/
Turkey - Georgia 4-1 (3-0)
/Yildiz 14, Demiral 22, 52, Akgun 35 - Kochorashvili 64/
