Thursday was a career first for Cristiano Ronaldo, but it was not the kind of career first he will be celebrating.
Ronaldo was given a red card during Portugal’s 2-0 loss to the Republic of Ireland in Thursday’s World Cup qualifying matchup. It was the first time in 226 international appearances he was shown a red card, although he has been sent off 13 times in club competition.
It was a frustrating game for Portugal, which enjoyed 77.2 percent of the possession and 27 shot attempts to the Republic of Ireland’s 14 only to fail to register a single goal.
Perhaps that frustration poured over for Ronaldo in the 61st minute when he elbowed defender Dara O’Shea away from the ball. He was initially shown a yellow card, but the referee upgraded the decision to a red upon further review.
Ireland already held a 2-0 lead at the time thanks to a brace from Troy Parrott, and protecting the advantage was much easier playing a man up with the legendary goal scorer sidelined.
Ronaldo could face a two-game ban as a result of the red card, which would mean missing the first contest of the 2026 World Cup should Portugal qualify. And Portugal is in an ideal position to advance through to the tournament despite Thursday’s loss.
Portugal is still two points ahead of Hungary in Group F and only need a win over Armenia in their final qualifier on Sunday to advance to the World Cup. However, they only needed a win over Ireland to clinch a spot Thursday and fell short in a surprising result.
Ronaldo scored five goals in the previous four World Cup qualifier games and notched a brace in the first matchup with Armenia.
While Portugal will miss his presence up front in the rematch, they can at least take solace knowing they won that first game 5-0 and should still have enough offense to clinch a spot in the World Cup.
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