Our central midfielder was once again to the fore, completing the full 90 minutes and providing the assist for Goncalo Oliveira to net his side’s third goal of the evening. He was also involved in the build-up to Portugal’s fourth – an own goal by Javan Peacock.
The result on São Miguel Island in the Azores cemented top spot for Portugal in qualifying Group B ahead of their final match at home to Czech Republic and ensured they’ll be playing at the finals in 2027.
Rodrigo Mora set the ball rolling with an incredible overhead kick from the edge of the area before Rodrigo Rêgo added a second.
In the 89th minute, captain Mateus delivered a corner which Oliveira headed home before the midfielder played a clever flicked pass to Afonso Moreira, whose cross was turned into his own net by Peacock a minute later.
Elsewhere on Wednesday, Armend Muslika scored a stoppage-time winner from the penalty spot to give Albania Under-19s a 3-2 home win over Lithuania. On as a first-half substitute, the attacking midfielder won and converted the spot-kick in the 96th minute as his side completed a dramatic late turnaround, having trailed 2-1 with three minutes of normal time remaining.
As previously reported, on-loan Yang Min-Hyeok was an unused substitute for South Korea as they defeated China 2-1 to book their place in the final of the Asian Games.
Meanwhile, Academy players Oscar Sandiford and Phoenix Offiah helped England come from a goal behind to beat South Korea 2-1 in their final group stage match of the UEFA Friendship Cup in Switzerland. Right-back Oscar played the whole game while striker Phoenix came off the bench on the hour mark.