Ronaldo, 40, has now scored 41 goals in World Cup qualifying to move clear of the previous record holder, former Guatemala striker Carlos Ruiz who got 39 qualifying goals in his career. With England beating Latvia 5-0 to qualify from Group K, Portugal were minutes away from also securing their spot in next summer's tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States. However, in the 91st-minute Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai grabbed an equaliser to deny Portugal the win they needed, although they still hold a five-point lead at the top of Group F with two matches to go. Portugal's next chance to qualify comes on 13 November when they play the Republic of Ireland in Dublin. In Lisbon, Hungary took an eighth-minute lead with a goal from Attila Szalai after he was set up by Szoboszlai. But Ronaldo pulled Portugal level in the 22nd minute from six yards out when he connected with Nelson Semedo's low cross from the right. Ronaldo then got the 948th goal of his career and his 143rd international goal just before half-time, this time with a composed finish following Nuno Mendes' delivery. However, Szoboszlai's late equaliser kept Hungary's hopes of winning the group alive. During Ronaldo's 22-year international career, he has helped Portugal win the European Championship in 2016 and the Uefa Nations League on two occasions. However, the closest he has come to winning the World Cup came in 2006 when Portugal reached the semi-finals, before losing to France and then to Germany in the third-fourth play-off. Hungary remain second in Group F and are one point ahead of the Republic of Ireland, who beat Armenia 1-0 in Dublin.

Senegal claimed a 4-0 home win over Mauritania to secure first place in Group B. A Sadio Mane free-kick put the hosts ahead on the stroke of half-time and the former Liverpool forward slotted in his second before Iliman Ndiaye added a fine solo effort and Habib Diallo rounded off the scoring late on. The Teranga Lions finished the campaign two points ahead of DR Congo, who beat Sudan 1-0 thanks to Theo Bongonda's first-half strike. Elsewhere, Franck Kessie gave Ivory Coast an early lead against Kenya in Group F and teenager Yan Diomande fired in to double the lead after the break. Manchester United's Amad curled in a fine free-kick to give the Elephants a 3-0 victory in Abidjan. That result meant the reigning continental champions finished a point ahead of Gabon, who saw off Burundi 2-0 in Franceville after late goals from Bryan Meyo and Mario Lemina.

Benin, chasing a maiden World Cup appearance, started the last round of matches at the summit of Group C, two points ahead of South Africa and three in front of Nigeria. But the team led by former Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr fell to a 4-0 defeat away in Uyo, with Victor Osimhen grabbing a hat-trick for the hosts, a result that saw the Cheetahs slip to third, below their opponents on goal difference. That opened the door to the South Africans, and Bafana Bafana capitalised as they eased to a 3-0 home win over Rwanda. Thalente Mbatha fired home in the fifth minute, Oswin Appollis whipped in a second midway through the first half and Evidence Makgopa headed in the third in the 72nd minute in Mbombela. South Africa become the seventh African team to reach the expanded 48-team finals, joining Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Ghana and Cape Verde. There will be relief that the 3-0 forfeit imposed by Fifa for fielding an ineligible player in their victory over Lesotho in March has not cost them. That decision, announced earlier this month, saw Bafana drop from the top of the group to second, behind Benin on goal difference, heading into the final two rounds of preliminaries.

Victory meant the Blue Sharks secured top spot in their qualifying group and a place at the 2026 finals ahead of continental heavyweights Cameroon. Dailon Livramento opened the scoring for the hosts in Praia, turning home a loose ball inside the six-yard box early in the second half, and Willy Semedo volleyed in a second soon afterwards. Veteran defender Stopira added the third in stoppage time before the full-time whistle sparked joyous scenes of celebration at the 15,000-capacity National Stadium. An archipelago of 10 islands in the Atlantic Ocean, with a population of just under 525,000 according to the latest figures from the World Bank, Cape Verde gained independence from Portugal in 1975 and first attempted to reach the 2002 World Cup hosted in Japan and South Korea. The team have punched above their weight in the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in recent years, reaching the quarter-finals on debut in 2013 and again in 2023, and currently sit 70th in the world rankings. Iceland, who featured at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, is the only country with a smaller population to qualify for the global showpiece. Last month's 1-0 home win over Cameroon in the capital city put the islanders in pole position in Group D, knowing one victory from their remaining two games would book their place in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

After starting their campaign with a surprise 2-0 defeat by Slovakia, Germany are top of Group A with nine points from four games. Slovakia are behind the four-time World Cup winners only on goal difference after they beat Luxembourg in the group's other game, with Northern Ireland three points further back with two games left to play. In manager Michael O'Neill's 100th game in charge of Northern Ireland, Woltemade's header after half an hour was the only effort on target in a first half played at a high intensity but with little in the way of goalmouth action. With the score still 0-0 in the 14th minute, Sunderland defender Daniel Ballard thought he had given the hosts the lead, but his celebrations were curtailed by the linesman's flag with Paddy McNair offside in the build-up. A quarter of an hour later, Woltemade got above Isaac Price from a David Raum corner and nodded past Bailey Peacock-Farrell. After excellent play from Ethan Galbraith to tee up the chance, Jamie Reid then lashed Northern Ireland's best opportunity of the half over the crossbar three minutes before the interval. Karim Adeyemi should have doubled his side's advantage two minutes after the restart but fired wide when through on goal and Northern Ireland created the better of the chances thereafter. Both Shea Charles and Galbraith drew saves from Oliver Baumann in a final 20 minutes played largely in Germany's third of the pitch. In the 87th minute, substitute Callum Marshall saw another effort beaten away as his side could just not find the equaliser that would have halted what is now an 11-game losing run against Germany.