World Cup Preliminaries - Cristiano Ronaldo s elbow turned red and Parrott hit twice. Portugal missed advancement 0-2.

In the early morning of November 14th, the fifth round of Group F of the 2026 World Cup European Qualifiers continued. Ireland played at home against Portugal. In the first half of the game, Parrott scored two goals to help Ireland lead 2-0. In the second half, Ronaldo retaliated with an elbow on his opponent and was sent off. In the end, Portugal lost to Ireland 0-2 in an away game and missed the opportunity to advance to the World Cup. Portugal must win in the last round to definitely advance directly.

In the first half of the game, in the 3rd minute, Ronaldo got the ball in the penalty area. Facing a three-person double-team, his shot was confiscated by the goalkeeper. In the 6th minute, Portugal took a free kick at the top of the arc. Ronaldo took the penalty and failed to bypass the wall. In the 12th minute, Portugal launched an attack from the right. Cancelo made an inverted triangle cross to the middle, and Ronaldo followed up with a right-footed shot.

In the 18th minute, the Irish team took the lead in scoring. The Portuguese team stepped back from the backcourt. Goalkeeper Costa made a mistake and sent the opponent a corner kick. Ireland's right corner kick was taken backwards. Skiles got rid of the ball and returned to the center. Parrott headed the ball into the empty goal with a relay header. The Irish team led 1-0.

In the 39th minute, the Irish team launched a quick counterattack. Aunbei got the ball in the penalty area at high speed, and then chose to push the ball with his right foot into the far corner. The ball hit the post and popped out.

In the 45th minute, the Irish team expanded its lead. O'Shea sent a precise overhead ball from the backcourt. Parrott got the ball on the left side of the penalty area at high speed, then cut inside to get rid of Cancelo's defense. Before Ruben Neves could defend, he shot low with his left foot and scored in the near corner. The Irish team led 2-0. After halftime, the Irish took the lead with Parrott's double.

In the second half of the game, in the 48th minute, Portugal took a corner kick from the right side into the penalty area. Vitinha missed the opportunity when he kicked the ball in the penalty area. In the 61st minute, Ronaldo pushed his opponent down in the penalty area and received a yellow card. However, VAR intervened and the referee personally reviewed the video and finally determined that Ronaldo was retaliating with an elbow. The yellow card was changed to a straight red and Ronaldo was sent off.

In the 88th minute, Ramos' long-range shot from outside the penalty area was blocked by Kelleher. After that, neither team could create a threatening offensive. After the whole game, the Irish team defeated 10-man Portugal 2-0 at home and still retained the chance to qualify for the group. Portugal lost this game and missed the opportunity to advance. They must win in the last round to definitely qualify.

Both sides’ lineup:

Ireland (3-4-2-1): 1-Kelleher/4-O’Shea, 22-Collins, 5-O’Brien/3-Scales, 8-Taylor, 6-Cullen, 2-Sherman/11-Azaz, 20-O’Beirne/7-Palow Special

Portugal (4-3-3): 1-Costa/5-Dalot, 14-Inásio, 3-Diaz, 20-Cancelo/23-Vitinha, 21-Ruben Neves, 15-Joao Neves/11-Felix, 7-C Ronaldo, 10-B Seat