Lackluster Three Lions feast on helpless Andorra, CR7 and Co. direct Armenia's disaster

Harder than expected, England beat the minnows Andorra at home 2-0, while, easier than expected, Portugal dismantled Armenia 5-0 on the road. Still, both European giants recorded critical victories in their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaigns.

As if the Englishmen underestimated the minnows before the match, all their attempts in the first half were futile. Harry Kane and Eberechi Eze were the most dangerous in Thomas Tuchel's crew, but they seemed way too relaxed in decisive moments in front of the rivals' goal.

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And had it not been for Andorra's defender Christian Garcia, who headed the ball into his own net following Noni Madueke's cross, the Three Lions would have been level at the break with the team whose market value is almost 300 times smaller!

This way, the home crew was a goal up at the break, though the crowd at Villa Park couldn't have been too satisfied with England's performance.

Still, not much changed in England's approach after the break. Andorra bravely held out until the 67th minute, when Declan Rice found the net with a decent header following Reece James' cross, doubling the Three Lions' lead.

In the remaining 25 minutes, Tuchel made several subs, giving a chance to those who hadn't played much lately, but they failed to bring any improvement, as the result did not change until the end.

In three days, England will have a much tougher challenge, as they'll face Serbia in Belgrade (21.45).

Germany makes history but in a bad way

Unlike England, Portugal sealed the deal against Armenia already at the break, gaining a 3-0 advantage after only 32 minutes. The Al-Nassr duo, Joao Felix and Cristiano Ronaldo (who scored his 139th international goal), scored the first two goals in the tenth and 21st minutes, while their rival in the Saudi Pro League, Al Hilal's Joao Cancelo, netted the third.

The Global One's "partners in crime" continued tormenting the Armenians in the second half, given that it took Ronaldo less than a minute after the break to complete a brace and score his #140 for the Navigators.

A quarter of an hour later, Felix followed in his footsteps, netting his second goal and giving Portugal a colossal 5-0 lead.

Afterwards, the visitors "hit the brakes" a bit, some subs with less playing time got a chance, and the final result remained the one the former Chelsea forward set with his goal.

In their second qualifying game, the Navigators will once again play a road match, this time against a much stronger rival, as Hungary will host them in Budapest on Tuesday (21.45).

2026 FIFA WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS - EUROPE

Friday

Denmark - Scotland 0-0

Faroe I. - Croatia 0-1 (0-1)

/Kramaric 31/

Greece - Belarus 5-1 (4-0)

/Karetsas 3, Pavlidis 17, Bakasetas 21, Kourbelis 36, Tzolis 63 - Barkovskiy 72 pen/

Iceland - Azerbaijan 5-0 (1-0)

/Palsson 45+2, Johannesson 47, 56, Gudmundsson 66, Hlynsson 73/

Italy - Estonia 5-0

/Kean 58, Retegui 69, 89, Raspadori 71, Bastoni 90+2/

Moldova - Israel 0-4 (0-2)

/Peretz 15, Solomon 35, Baribo 59, Gloukh 77/

Montenegro - Czech R. 0-2 (0-1)

/Cerv 3, Cerny 90+6/

Slovenia - Sweden 2-2 (0-1)

/Lovric 46, Vipotnik 90 - Elanga 18, Ayari 73/

Switzerland - Kosovo 4-0 (4-0)

/Akanji 22, Embolo 25, 45, Widmer 39/

Ukraine - France 0-2 (0-1)

/Olise 10, Mbappe 82/

Saturday

Latvia - Serbia 0-1 (0-1)

/Vlahovic 12/

Armenia - Portugal 0-5 (0-3)

/Felix 10, 61, Ronaldo 21, 46, Cancelo 32/

England - Andorra 2-0 (1-0)

/Garcia C. 25 og, Rice 67/

21.45: (1.10) Austria (10.0) Cyprus (30.0)

21.45: (2.65) R.Ireland (3.10) Hungary (2.85)

21.45: (75.0) San Marino (14.0) B&H (1.03)

Sunday

16.00: (1.55) Georgia (4.00) Bulgaria (6.50)

19.00: (22.0) Lithuania (11.0) Netherlands (1.12)

19.00: (1.07) Macedonia (10.0) Liechtenstein (40.0)

21.45: (1.12) Belgium (10.0) Kazakhstan (25.0)

21.45: (1.12) Germany (9.50) N.Ireland (20.0)

21.45: (4.00) Luxembourg (3.35) Slovakia (2.00)

21.45: (1.70) Poland (3.60) Finland (5.40)

21.45: (5.50) Turkey (3.70) Spain (1.67)

***odds are subject to change***