The quest for a spot in the 2026 World Cup, hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, intensifies as qualifying matches across the globe reach crucial stages. Key fixtures include Republic of Ireland versus Portugal and France against Ukraine, with significant implications for qualification hopes.
In Dublin, the Republic of Ireland faces Portugal at Aviva Stadium in a pivotal Group F clash. The match kicks off at 7:45 p.m. GMT. Referee Glenn Nyberg (SWE) will officiate, with Pol van Boekel (NED) as the Video Assistant Referee. Portugal leads Group F and can secure their place in the World Cup with a win or if they avoid defeat and Hungary fail to beat Armenia. For Ireland, the equation is simple: they must win to keep their hopes of direct qualification alive. A loss, combined with a Hungary win against Armenia, would eliminate Ireland's chances of finishing in the top two.
Ireland will be without key players Evan Ferguson and Sammie Szmodics due to injury, while Jayson Molumby and Ryan Manning are suspended. Portugal, aiming for their ninth World Cup appearance, will look to Cristiano Ronaldo, who has five goals in this qualifying campaign, to lead the attack. The last time these two teams met, Portugal secured a narrow 1-0 victory courtesy of a late goal from Rúben Neves. Ireland's coach, Heimir Hallgrímsson, remains unbeaten in all seven of his World Cup qualifying home matches as a manager.
Meanwhile, in Paris, France hosts Ukraine in another crucial World Cup qualifier. France tops Group D with 10 points and will qualify for the World Cup with a victory. Ukraine, currently second in the group with seven points, needs a win to tie France on points and boost their qualification chances. The match kicks off at 8:45 p.m. local time at Parc des Princes. In the UK, the match will be available to stream live on Amazon Prime Video.
France enters the match unbeaten in their last 16 World Cup qualifying matches. However, they were held to a 2-2 draw by Iceland in their previous qualifier. Ukraine, on the other hand, is coming off wins against Iceland and Azerbaijan. A draw would leave them needing the mother of all miracles to qualify automatically but the advantage going into Sunday afternoon would be theirs over Iceland.
These matches represent critical junctures in the World Cup 2026 qualifying campaign. With berths in the tournament at stake, expect both encounters to be hard-fought battles.
