Spain, Portugal and Norway sight World Cup, Italy stays alive

With their respective victories on Saturday; Spain, Portugal and Norway were very close to mathematically certifying their tickets to the 2026 World Cup, while Italy fulfilled in Estonia and keeps alive their options to avoid the playoffs.

With Saturday’s wins, Spain, Portugal, and Norway all moved within reach of clinching qualification for the 2026 World Cup, while Italy handled business in Estonia to keep its playoff hopes alive.

In Elche, La Roja beat Georgia 2-0, their third win in as many games and without conceding a goal. It leads Group E with nine points, followed by Turkey, with six points, which won 6-1 in Bulgaria.

The reigning European champions dominated the match from start to finish, pinning their opponents back in their own half. They opened the scoring thanks to a goal by Yéremy Pino ('24), who started in attack due to injuries to regular wingers Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal.

After a penalty missed by Ferrán Torres ('29), Spain had to wait until the second half to extend their lead. The goal came from the boots of Mikel Oyarzabal, who fired in a free kick on the edge of the box after Pedro Porro had faked the kick.

"We had a team in front of us that defended very orderly, with a lot of courage and a great goalkeeper," Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said. On Tuesday, Spain will play in Valladolid against Bulgaria. A win at the Jose Zorrilla stadium could virtually seal their passport to the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Neves pays tribute to Diogo Jota

Portugal suffered the most to beat Ireland in Lisbon. The Green Army withstood the onslaught of Cristiano Ronaldo and his men, in an epic defense that reached its climax in a penalty saved by Caoimhín Kelleher from the five-time Ballon d'Or legend with 15 minutes to go.

A move after which it looked as if the Irish would return to their island with a point... until Ruben Neves (90+1') headed home the winner in stoppage time.

The Saudi Al Hilal midfielder, who wears the number 21 in honor of his late friend Diogo Jota, celebrated the goal by kissing that number and pointing both hands to the sky, visibly emotional.

With a perfect three wins (9 pts), Roberto Martínez’s Portugal leads Group F by five over Hungary (4), who beat Armenia 2-0 in the group’s other match.

Italy stay alive against the Norway of a record-breaking Haaland

More exciting is group I, with Norway unstoppable thanks to hurricane Erling Haaland and Italy trying to avoid another agonizing playoff. With a hat-trick and two misses from the same penalty, Haaland was the absolute protagonist in his team's 5-0 thrashing of Israel, in a match marked extra-sportively by demonstrations and actions in the stands in support of Palestine.

With his 49th, 50th and 51st goals for his country, the ever hungry Manchester City striker became the player who needed fewest international appearances to reach 50 goals, having needed just 46 games to do so.

Thanks to Haaland's goals, Norway have 18 points, and above all, a goal difference of +26, which could prove decisive against Italy's attempts to snatch top spot in the group.

The Azzurra, traumatized by having missed the last two World Cups after being eliminated in the European play-offs, complied in Tallinn with a 3-1 victory over Estonia.

With six points behind Norway but with a game in hand, Italy needs to beat Israel on Tuesday to go into the decisive November FIFA date with confidence.

Albania stun Serbia

Finally, in Group K, Albania edged Serbia 1-0 to stay second, four points behind England, who sat out this round.

Serbian coach Dragan Stojkovic resigned after the defeat. The Balkans are third.