PORTUGAL BOOK WORLD CUP SPOT

But they sweat over Fifa's Ronaldo decision; Spain, Switzerland, Belgium almost through

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Bruno Fernandes celebrating after scoring the first of his three goals in Portugal's 9-1 home win over Armenia. Joao Neves (No. 15) also netted a rare-in-a-lifetime-with Goncalo Ramos (No. 9), Renato Veiga and Francisco Conceicao grabbing the other goals. PHOTO: REUTERS

(REUTERS)

Portugal crushed Armenia 9-1 without their suspended talisman and captain Cristiano Ronaldo to clinch qualification for the 2026 World Cup on Nov 16.

Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes and Paris Saint-Germain’s Joao Neves both scored hat-tricks for Roberto Martinez’s side as they racked up a huge win in Porto to top Group F.

Armenia had equalised after Renato Veiga opened the scoring for Portugal but after Goncalo Ramos scored in the 28th minute, it was one-way traffic as Portugal finished with 13 points — three ahead of the Republic of Ireland, who won 3-2 in Hungary.

The other goal came from Francisco Conceicao.

This marks the seventh consecutive time they have qualified for the World Cup.

Ronaldo is in danger of missing at least Portugal’s opening match of the tournament after being shown a red card in Nov 13’s 2-0 loss to Ireland.

He served his mandatory one-game suspension against Armenia, but Fifa disciplinary rules state that a ban of at least two matches is required for “serious foul play” and for at least three matches for “violent conduct”.