Cristiano Ronaldo had a disastrous night in Dublin during Portugal’s 2026 World Cup qualifiers (UEFA) against Northern Ireland on Thursday, MySportDab reports.
The Selecao’s qualification for the 2026 World Cup was delayed heading into the final round of matches in group F after Troy Parrott struck twice to hand Ireland a shock 2-0 home win over the group leaders.
This result means Roberto Martinez’s side head into their final qualifiers against Armenia with a clear-cut mission to secure victory or risk losing the group’s direct qualification slot to the World Cup should Hungary see off Ireland.
It was their first defeat in the group and a disappointing outing for their talismanic forward Cristiano Ronaldo.
A visibly frustrated Ronaldo could be seen in a viral video elbowing Northern Ireland’s defender Dara O’Shea in the second half while battling for the ball.
The referee initially brandished a red card for the incident. However, after VAR review, it was upgraded to a red card – his first international career red card.
Per FIFA rules, suspensions for players suspended from straight red cards in the qualifiers are carried into the main tournaments.
This means Ronaldo will miss Portugal’s final group clash against Armenia and the team’s possible first 2026 World Cup match should they secure qualification.
Ronaldo has five goals in this 2026 World Cup Qualifiers campaign for Portugal and will be a big miss in the attack for the Selecao in Sunday’s clash against Armenia.
Nevertheless, the 2022 World Cup quarter-finalists head into the Armenia clash as favourites with the latter rocked bottom of the group with just three points.
