Portugal celebrated a hard-earned 3-2 victory over Hungary last night in Budapest, with João Cancelo scoring the late winner to give Roberto Martínez’s men the three points.
In what was expected to be Portugal’s toughest game in the qualifying stage of the FIFA World Cup 2026, the home team took the lead at the 21st minute, with Barnabás Vega heading home the opening goal before Bernardo Silva levelled the scoreboard 15 minutes later.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who had already scored two goals in Portugal’s 5-0 away win against Armenia last week, added to his impressive tally by scoring a penalty in the second half, his 141th goal for the national team.
The match seemed to be under control, but another deadly header by Barnabás Vega at the 84th minute upped the drama for the final stretch of the match. However, Portugal responded in just two minutes, with João Cancelo striking a powerful shot from outside the box to give his team the win.
The victory puts Portugal at the top of Group F with six points, ahead of Armenia (three), Hungary and Ireland (one each). With two home games coming up in October against Ireland and Hungary, Roberto Martínez and his team have put themselves in a great position to qualify for their seventh straight World Cup.
