England seal WC qualification, Portugal forced to wait post draw

Harry Kane scored twice as England thrashed Latvia 5-0 on Tuesday to secure qualification for the 2026 World Cup, while Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal were forced to wait to clinch their spot at the finals after being held by Hungary.

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Elsewhere, pro-Palestinian demonstrations prefaced Italy’s vital win over Israel and Spain took another step towards qualification with a big victory against Bulgaria.

Thomas Tuchel’s England brushed aside Latvia in Riga to make it six wins from six in Group K and guarantee top spot before their final two fixtures next month -- they have 18 points and an unassailable seven-point lead over second-placed Albania.

Anthony Gordon opened the scoring before Kane produced a lethal finish and then netted a penalty to make it 3-0 at halftime -- the Bayern Munich striker has 21 goals in 13 games this season for club and country.

Maksims Tonisevs scored an own-goal and Eberechi Eze added the fifth, with England now able to look forward to December's draw for next year’s finals.

"It comes rarely that you qualify for a World Cup, so the mood is very, very good," said Tuchel.

All 12 group winners in Europe qualify directly for the World Cup, with the runners-up going on to playoffs.

Serbia are a point behind Albania after fighting back to win 3-1 in Andorra.