Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 139th and 140th international goals as Portugal thrashed Armenia 5-0 in their first match since the death of Diogo Jota in a car accident in July.
A minute’s silence was held before the World Cup qualifier in honour of Jota, who won 49 caps for Portugal, and banners were on display around the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium in Yerevan.
João Félix opened the scoring in the 10th minute before Ronaldo doubled their lead when he converted Pedro Neto’s cross. João Cancelo celebrated his goal to make it 3-0 by mimicking Jota’s video game celebration.
The 40-year-old Ronaldo extended Portugal’s lead to four shortly after half-time with a stunning strike of a bouncing ball from distance, while his Al-Nassr teammate Félix added a second of his own to complete the scoring.
Adam Idah came off the bench to earn the Republic of Ireland a point from a dramatic 2-2 draw against 10-man Hungary in their opening qualifier.
The Swansea striker’s header in the third minute of injury time made it 2-2 after Ireland had fought their way back from 2-0 down to stave off defeat.
Ireland’s opening Group F fixture got off to a nightmare start when Barnabas Varga and Roland Sallai, who was later dismissed, scored inside the first 15 minutes.
The Roma striker Evan Ferguson reduced the deficit from close range early in the second half and Sallai’s premature departure, after a late challenge on Dara O’Shea, left the technically more gifted Hungarians under siege.
They almost managed to see out time but Idah intervened late on to keep Heimir Hallgrimsson’s team on an even keel in the race for second place behind Portugal.
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Serbia kept up their hopes of catching England in Group K with a 1-0 win against Latvia in Riga. Dusan Vlahovic scored the decisive goal in the 12th minute, slotting the ball past Krisjanis Zviedris from outside the penalty area.
Dragan Stojkovic’s side are five points behind the group leaders, England, with the two teams meeting in Belgrade on Tuesday.
In the African section of World Cup qualifying, Nigeria live to fight another day after beating Rwanda 1-0. Tolu Arokodare, who completed a move from Genk to Wolves on transfer deadline day, scored an acrobatic 50th-minute winner after coming off the bench.
Defeat for Nigeria in Uyo would have finished off their chances of qualifying for the World Cup but the victory moves them to within six points of the group leaders, South Africa, and five points behind second-place Benin with three games to go. Group winners qualify automatically for the finals in North America next summer, with second place heading into intercontinental playoffs.
