Hungary Deny Portugal and Ronaldo an Early World Cup Qualification

Cristiano Ronaldo set a new all-time record for World Cup qualifying goals, but Hungary secured a dramatic 2-2 draw to prevent Portugal from qualifying for the 2026 World Cup with two games to spare.

Match Summary

Portugal dominated large parts of the match but could not maintain their lead, allowing Hungary to keep alive their hopes of reaching the tournament in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Portugal’s Performance

• Portugal fell behind after eight minutes when Attila Szalai headed in from Dominik Szoboszlai’s corner.
• Ronaldo, 40, quickly restored parity with a clinical finish following Nelson Semedo’s cross, marking his 40th World Cup qualifying goal, surpassing Guatemala’s Carlos Ruiz (39).
• Before half-time, Ronaldo scored again from a Nuno Mendes cross, reaching his 143rd international goal, an all-time record.

“We are getting closer to our goal! Let’s go, Portugal,” Ronaldo wrote on X following the match.

Despite dominating, Portugal could not maintain control in the final stages, with Hungary pushing for an equaliser.

Hungary’s Late Equaliser

• Hungary came close in the second half when Szalai hit the crossbar with a header.
• In stoppage time, Dominik Szoboszlai converted a low cross from Daniel Lukacs at the back post to secure the 2-2 draw.

“I’m proud of everyone, I’m proud of the whole team,” Szoboszlai said.
“I couldn’t get to the near post so I went for the far post, I don’t know how many legs the ball went through, but it worked out.”

Portugal coach Roberto Martinez acknowledged his team’s lapse: “We didn’t manage the game in the last 10 minutes well enough. If you don’t kill the game, you need to know how to manage it until the end. Today we stopped playing and Hungary equalised.”

This result leaves Portugal top of Group F with 10 points, five clear of Hungary, but they must now wait until later matches to confirm automatic qualification.