Portugal: Cristiano Ronaldo risks missing the 2026 World Cup | OneFootball

Cristiano Ronaldo

With his red card yesterday, Cristiano Ronaldo faces a major setback ahead of the 2026 World Cup with Portugal.

Portugal fell 2-0 to Ireland on Thursday night. The big blow of the match came around the hour mark, when Cristiano Ronaldo completely lost his composure. In a seemingly innocuous challenge, he delivered a nasty elbow to Dara O’Shea. After a VAR review, the referee showed him a straight red card—the first of his international career.

This reckless move has opened the door to a nightmare scenario: a lengthy suspension could rule Ronaldo out of the 2026 World Cup. The rules are clear: suspensions only apply to official matches, not friendlies. That means CR7 will automatically miss the final qualifier against Armenia. But things could get even worse. A two-match ban would mean missing Portugal’s World Cup opener, three games would see him absent for two group-stage matches, and four would all but erase his presence from the tournament.

If Portugal finishes top of Group F (with 10 points, ahead of Hungary on 8 and Ireland on 7), Ronaldo will enter the World Cup under suspension. The only possible escape: a highly unlikely second-place finish, which would send Portugal to the playoffs and allow Ronaldo to serve his ban before the finals get underway.