Who: Ireland vs Portugal
Contents: UEFA World Cup Qualification, Group F
Location: Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland
When: Thursday 7:45pm (19:45 GMT)
Click here to follow the live coverage.
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Unbeaten Portugal (3-1-0) will qualify directly for the 2026 FIFA World Cup if they defeat Ireland in the penultimate game of Group F at the Aviva Stadium.
Armed with a five-goal lead, Roberto Martínez’s side sat in the box and booked their seventh successive appearance at football’s global festival.
Meanwhile, Ireland (1-1-2) still have a mathematical chance to keep their World Cup aspirations alive by pulling off a huge upset against the No. 5 FIFA world rankings on Thursday night.
They are currently third in their group but are only one point behind second-placed Hungary with two games left. Ireland last qualified for the World Cup in 2006.
Here’s what you need to know about Group F’s return match.
Current Group F standings (2 games remaining):
Portugal – 10 points (from 4 matches) Hungary – 5 points (from 4 matches) Ireland – 4 points (from 4 matches) Armenia – 3 points (from 4 matches)
Why can Portugal and Ireland qualify for the World Cup in Group F?
Scenario 1:
Group leaders Portugal need a win against Ireland to directly secure qualification to next year’s World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
In this scenario, Portugal would receive 13 points. With one game remaining, they have an irreversible lead over the other three teams in the group.
Scenario 2:
If Portugal draw their last two games against Ireland and Armenia, they will also top the Group F standings with 12 points from six games.
Scenario 3:
If Portugal loses their remaining two games against Ireland and Armenia, and Hungary, who currently has five points, wins their remaining two games against Armenia and Ireland, Hungary will move to the top of Group F with 11 points, while Portugal will have 10 points.
If Ireland win their remaining two games and Portugal lose their remaining two games, both teams will be tied at the top with 10 points and the group winner will be decided on goal difference.
All 12 European group winners qualify directly for the World Cup, with second-place teams advancing to a play-off for the remaining finalists in March.
What happened in the last match between Portugal and Hungary?
Portugal were on the verge of clinching their ticket to the World Cup by leading Hungary 2-1 in second-half stoppage time in Lisbon, but they knew a win would seal them first place in Group F.
However, Hungary drew a late goal with Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai scoring from close range in added time.
What happened the last time Portugal played Ireland?
The last time the two teams met was on October 11th in Lisbon.
In Group F, Portugal’s Ruben Neves snatched a dramatic 1-0 home victory with a stoppage-time goal after his teammate Ronaldo saved a penalty early in the match as Ireland threatened to force the unbeaten hosts to a draw.
Will the 2026 World Cup be Ronaldo’s last major international tournament?
yes. With Portugal on the verge of qualifying for the World Cup, Ronaldo admitted the North American tournament will be a heated show on soccer’s biggest stage.
“Absolutely, yes, because (at the World Cup) I will be 41 years old,” Ronaldo said. Ronaldo is also the country’s all-time leading scorer with 143 goals.
“I gave everything for football. I have been involved in football for the past 25 years. I have done everything. I have many records in different scenarios for club and national team.”
“I’m really proud of it. So let’s enjoy this moment and live in the moment.”
direct confrontation
This is the 18th time the European teams have played each other, with Portugal winning 10 and Ireland winning four.
Ireland’s last win was in a friendly in 2005, thanks to Andy O’Brien’s only goal in Dublin. Four matches were played after that, of which Portugal won three.
Ireland’s last win against Portugal was in the 1995 European Championship qualifiers.
The match dates back to 1946, when Portugal won 3-1 at home in a friendly.
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Portugal team news
Chelsea winger Pedro Neto has withdrawn from Martinez’s side after sustaining a groin injury in Saturday’s 3-0 win over Wolves in the Premier League. Rafael Leao is a likely candidate to replace Neto.
Sporting Lisbon midfielder Pedro Goncalves will also be out for a month after sustaining an undisclosed injury in the match against Santa Clara at the weekend.
“(I) will miss the remaining two games and will not be able to participate in the World Cup qualifiers. It hurts not to be able to represent the national team, when it was always my dream to represent it. Now is the time to recover properly, even if I am not doing what I love the most! Thank you to the team for working until the end! We still have a lot to achieve,” Gonsalves wrote on social media.
Ronaldo, who has yet to score a goal away to Ireland in four career games, will be in charge of Portugal’s national team.
ireland team news
In a major blow to Ireland’s chances, star striker Evan Ferguson missed the match against Portugal with an ankle problem, leaving his availability for the final World Cup game against Hungary, which could decide second place in Group F, in doubt.
Coach Heimir Hallgrimsson will also be without three injured regulars: Callum O’Dowda (minor bruise), Mark Sykes (shin) and Sammy Zmodics (knee).
Ryan Manning and Jason Molumby will receive one-game suspensions.
Expected starting lineup:
Ireland: Kelleher (goalkeeper). O’Brien, O’Shea, Collins. Coleman, Cullen and Taylor, Johnston. Ebosele, Azaz. parrot
Portugal: Costa (goalkeeper). Cancelo, Diaz, Inacio, Mendes. Fernandes, Vicinha, Neves, Bernardo, Ronaldo, Leo
Coaches’ comments:
Hallgrimson:
“If Armenia wins or draws, a win in Hungary would be good enough for us, so those are two of the four scenarios for us,” the Ireland coach said.
“If Hungary wins, they need at least a draw, but if they win by two or three goals, then they need a draw (against Portugal) and maybe win away in Hungary by three goals.
“We’ll know before kick-off what we need in this game against Portugal. That’s an advantage for us, but the way we go into the game and the way we play remains the same, but we may have to take some calculated risks as the game progresses.”
Martinez:
“November is always a difficult time, but we are still focused on qualifying for the World Cup. … We have to improve, especially in the last 20 minutes of the match,” said the Portuguese coach.
