Football
Republic of Ireland forced Portugal to wait to qualify for the 2026 World Cup as they produced a stunning victory at the Aviva Stadium; Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off to cap off a miserable night; elsewhere, France secured qualification for next summer’s tournament with Norway on brink
Thursday 13 November 2025 22:36, UK
Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off as Republic of Ireland stunned Portugal with a 2-0 win and forced Roberto Martinez’s side to wait to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
The reigning Nations League holders knew a win would be enough to secure their place at next summer’s tournament, but a Troy Parrott double put an end to that possibility.
The former Tottenham – and current AZ Alkmaar – striker opened the scoring just after the 15-minute mark with a close-range header, before doubling Ireland’s advantage on the stroke of half-time.
Portugal’s hopes of earning a comeback were harmed when talisman Ronaldo was sent off for swinging an elbow at defender Dara O’Shea off the ball.
Ronaldo was initially shown a yellow card for the incident, but saw the caution upgraded following a VAR review.
The result means that Portugal will now have to beat Armenia on Sunday to secure their place at the World Cup, while Ireland play Hungary on Sunday, knowing a win would guarantee at least second in the group.
Ronaldo’s dismissal at the Aviva Stadium means that he will definitely miss Portugal’s final qualification tie against Armenia due to serving a minimum one-match suspension.
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However, the nature of the red card means that the forward could be hit with a three-match ban.
In FIFA’s Disciplinary Code, Chapter 2, Article 14(i) says that if a player is sent off for “assault, including elbowing, punching, kicking, biting, spitting or hitting an opponent,” they should serve a three-game ban.
In that case, Ronaldo would miss Portugal’s opening two World Cup group stage game should they top Group F, as the suspension would carry over to the tournament.
If they were to drop to second in the group and qualify through the play-offs, Ronaldo would then be available for the start of the tournament even if his suspension was extended.
A decision on the length of the Portugal captain’s ban will be made by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee.
Elsewhere, France booked their tickets to North America as a Kylian Mbappe double helped Didier Deschamps’ side overcome Ukraine 4-0 at the Parc des Princes.
Mbappe scored either side of Michael Olise’s goal before Liverpool’s Hugo Ekitike rounded off the scoring to ensure that Les Bleus confirmed their place, having made it to the final in each of the last two World Cup’s.
Earlier, Erling Haaland continued his incredible goalscoring form as Norway demolished Estonia 4-1 to all but secure their qualification.
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Four goals in 12 second half minutes, two coming from the Manchester City striker, put Stale Solbakken’s team in command and leave them on the brink of qualifying.
Norway would have secured their passage had Italy failed to come out on top against Moldova. However, late goals from Gianluca Mancini and Francesco Pio Esposito meant that the Azzurri delayed what appears to be the inevitable.
Norway will travel to Italy for their final qualification game, with the hosts needing to win and produce a 17-goal swing in order to leapfrog the current Group I leaders.
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