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Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off as Troy Parrott fired the Republic of Ireland to a sensational 2-0 victory against Portugal to set up a qualifying showdown with Hungary.
The 40-year-old Portugal captain was dismissed for elbowing defender Dara O’Shea off the ball with a little more than 30 minutes remaining at the Aviva Stadium, but Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men were already well on their way to a win over the side ranked fifth in the world.
AZ Alkmaar striker Parrott’s first-half double ultimately did the damage, but it was a collective performance of true character which laid the foundation for a victory which means a repeat in Budapest on Sunday would clinch runners-up spot in Group F and a chance to make it to next summer’s finals.
Ronaldo was unable to make anything of a series of early chances and although the home side’s forays into opposition territory were few, they grew in frequency and in the 17th minute Liam Scales found space beyond the far post to head Josh Cullen’s set piece back across goal, where Parrott was perfectly placed to turn the ball home from point-blank range.
Caoimhín Kelleher saved from João Félix and Diogo Dalot twice fired over as Portugal stepped up a gear, but the home side extended their lead on the stroke of half-time when Parrott ran on to O’Shea’s ball over the top before cutting inside and beating Diogo Costa at his near post.
Portugal continued to dominate possession, but their hopes suffered a blow when, after being advised to review his 59th-minute decision only to book Ronaldo for swinging an arm at O’Shea, Glenn Nyberg produced a red card after going to the monitor.
There was a brief exchange between Ronaldo and Hallgrímsson on the sideline which ended in a handshake, but both men knew the game was effectively done at that point and the Republic were able to ease their way across the finishing line despite the continuing onslaught.
Ronaldo’s dismissal means that he will definitely miss Portugal’s final qualification tie against Armenia due to serving a minimum one-match suspension. However, because he was shown a straight red card for violent conduct the forward could face a three-match ban.
In that case, Ronaldo would miss Portugal’s first two World Cup group stage game should they top their qualification group, as the suspension would carry over to the tournament. If they were to drop to second in the Group F and reach the tournament through the playoffs, Ronaldo would then be available for the start even if his suspension was extended.
France booked a spot for their eighth consecutive World Cup after a Kylian Mbappé double helped to secure a 4-0 home victory against Ukraine
Les Bleus, who are unbeaten in a Euro or World Cup qualifying game since 2019, will be seeded when the draw for the tournament is made on 5 December.
Captain Mbappé scored either side of Michael Olise’s 76th-minute goal, before Hugo Ekitike added a late fourth. France top Group D with 13 points from five games and have an unassailable six-point lead over second-placed Iceland. They will face bottom side Azerbaijan in their final qualifier on Sunday.
Alexander Sørloth and Erling Haaland both scored twice in Norway’s 4-1 home win against Estonia on Thursday that put them on the verge of qualifying for the World Cup for the first time since 1998.
Norway have all but secured a place at next year’s tournament in North America as they hold a six-point lead over second-placed Italy, who play Moldova later on Thursday, in Group I. Italy need to beat both Moldova and Norway in their remaining two qualifiers and overturn a 19-goal deficit to leapfrog the Norwegians and snatch the automatic qualifying spot.
The visitors initially denied the hosts the space and rhythm they have so often exploited during this qualification campaign. Oscar Bobb missed the best chance to put Norway ahead when he struck the woodwork with a low cross just before half-time. The home crowd, expecting a comfortable lead, made their frustration clear, greeting the whistle with loud boos as the players headed towards the dressing room.
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Five minutes after the restart, loud cheers erupted around the stadium after Sander Berge swung in a cross in front of the box that Sørloth headed in to break the deadlock. Barely two minutes later, Sørloth guided a second header home.
From then on there was no stopping Norway. The Estonian defence fell apart, and another driven cross found Haaland, who powered in yet another header to give Norway a 3-0 lead in the 56th minute. Haaland added another in the 62nd minute before Robi Saarma pulled one back for Estonia just two minutes later.
Nigeria beat Gabon 4-1 in their World Cup African qualifying playoff semi-final in Rabat, but they needed extra time before running out comfortable winners.
The striker Akor Adams snapped up a shallow back pass from Gabon’s defender Aaron Appindangoyé and caught the goalkeeper Loyce Mbaba way out of his goal for an easy tap-in for Nigeria’s opening goal in the 78th minute. But Mario Lemina snatched an 89th-minute equaliser to take the game into an additional 30 minutes.
A goal from Chidera Ejuke and two from Victor Osimhen made sure of Nigeria’s progress to the final in the Moroccan capital on Sunday, where they will take on the Democratic Republic of Congo. The winner then advances to the inter-confederation playoffs in March where six teams will compete for two places at the 2026 finals
In the other semi-final, the Democratic Republic of Congo captain, Chancel Mbemba, snuck in at the back post to score a dramatic last-gasp winner for his team as they edged Cameroon 1-0.
Mbemba stole in unmarked to force home a corner from Brian Cipenga to secure a dramatic victory for his country and keep them on course for possible qualification to next year’s finals. Cameroon’s eight previous World Cup finals appearances are a record for an African nation but that gave them little superiority over a determined Congolese side in a match played in persistent rain.
The Cameroon goalkeeper Andre Onana, who had been an injury doubt before the match, made a fine stop to deny Théo Bongonda on the hour mark, while five minutes later, at the other end, Bryan Mbeumo burst through onto a probing pass but steered his effort wide from close range. Two half-chances fell for Cameroon’s Karl Etta Eyong in the closing minutes, even as the Congolese seemed to be finishing stronger, before Mbemba popped up with the winner.
