Ronaldo missed a penalty and was silent + lowest rating among starters; Neves scored a stoppage-time winner as Portugal beat Ireland 1-0 to top the group with 5 points.

At 02:45 on October 12th Beijing time, in the 3rd round of the UEFA World Cup qualifiers Group F, Portugal played at home against Ireland.

In the first half, Ronaldo’s long-range shot struck the post, B. Silva failed to score from an open chance, and Keogh made an outstanding save; the half ended 0-0. In the second half, Trincão earned a disputed penalty, Ronaldo’s penalty was saved by Keogh, and in stoppage time, Trincão assisted Neves for a decisive header.

In the end, Portugal narrowly defeated Ireland 1-0 at home, leading the group with 5 points and securing a strong position for World Cup qualification.

Portugal vs Ireland,Martinez lined up a 4-2-3-1 formation with Ronaldo upfront, Bruno Fernandes behind him, Neto and B. Silva on the wings, Ruben Neves and Vitinha as defensive midfielders, Dalot, Ruben Dias, Inacio, and Mendes forming the back four, and Costa in goal; the starting lineup’s market value was €520 million.Hjaltgrimsson deployed a 3-4-2-1 formation with a starting lineup valued at €130 million.

This match once again revealed the shortcomings of Portugal, one of football’s top three most valuable teams. Martinez’s tactics and substitutions for Belgium’s golden generation were puzzling, and Portugal’s penalty decision seemed questionable. Is 40-year-old Ronaldo truly defying age? Not really. Ronaldo remains Portugal’s starting striker, but whenever he fails to score, he receives the lowest rating among starters—as was the case here, where he earned a 6.7 rating, the lowest among the eleven starters. This suggests Ronaldo should be on the bench. On the pitch, he mostly stood still while teammates tried, sometimes consciously, to feed him chances, highlighting Portugal’s overly predictable attack and players’ limited freedom. If there is a key difference now between Ronaldo and Messi, it is that Ronaldo has become a liability for Portugal, whereas Messi still elevates Argentina’s performance. Portugal’s narrow victory over Ireland, sealed by Ruben Neves’ stoppage-time header, owed much to luck and suggests they may not progress far in the World Cup knockout stages.

Throughout the match,Portugal controlled 70% possession and fired 30 shots, 6 on target; Ireland had only 2 shots in total, none on target.Ronaldo, Portugal’s lowest-rated starter, repeated his usual pattern by taking 7 shots—the most in the team—but missed a penalty and was ineffective. Whenever Ronaldo fails to score, he tends to receive the lowest rating, which is Portugal’s fundamental problem at present, yet he remains an indispensable starter.