Raven-black day with red card: An uncontrolled Cristiano Ronaldo missed early qualification for the 2026 World Cup finals with Portugal and was also sent off the pitch in his 226th international match for the first time in the Selecao jersey.
In the 2-0 draw (0-2) in Ireland, the 40-year-old was shown a red card in the 61st minute for an elbow strike – and could therefore be initially banned from his record World Cup. To do this, Portugal (10 points) must maintain its lead in Group A over Hungary (8), who will face Ireland (7) at home at the same time, in their final home game against Armenia on Sunday (3 p.m.). Ronaldo will definitely be banned.
Missed Ronaldo Record World Cup start?
If the penalty exceeds one game, the superstar would also miss the start of his sixth World Cup finals – the bans will be carried over.
Ronaldo, who would be the first footballer to play in World Cup number six, and his teammates miserably missed their first match point. Troy Parrott from AZ Alkmaar (17th/45th) scored twice in the first half against the guests who were still playing at target strength.
CR7 provokes with a howling gesture
After an hour the big excitement came: Ronaldo was knocked out in a duel with Dara O’Shea, initially saw yellow and then red after VAR intervention – the 13th expulsion of his professional career. Ronaldo, who had previously provoked his opponents with a “crying gesture”, now received this thousands of times from the Irish fans – and said goodbye with malicious applause.